Bloody Profit
by Tom The Author
Summary: Having been involved with Merryweather Security in the Middle East and a few bosses in Liberty City, Thomas Marston moves down to Los Santos to move on from a tragic incident that happened years back while seeking a new life to start afresh and makes some new associates along the way. 1st fanfic; Has been changed to 3rd POV as of Chap. 10
1. OC Info

The Life and Times of Thomas Marston

**A Pre-Write **

Hello, everyone. Now I'm for sure you're wondering, why the heck does this dude have a foreword or whatever you call this thing right here. Look, I'm currently trying to write up an idea for this thing. I don't want to make an amateur edition of this fanfic as my first impression on this website. So what I do have is an idea of explaining my character's history. One thing I am doing is that I'm trying to contact my Rockstar crew if I can use it in my Fanfic story. I would also like to use any OC's in this story as well because it could take me quite a while to finish this story. One important thing I will remember is to add a cast of characters to this story.

**OC Info**

Name:

Age:

Sex:

Personality:

Bio:

Interests:

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**(October 14th, 2015)**

**To anyone asking why I've re-uploaded this "OC Chapter", let me explain my case. In the past, I felt that this chapter was unnecessary to keep as a whole since I had enough OC's for this story. Today, I looked back at my decision and I realized that it was a mistake as I've read other stories where they still kept the OC chapter despite moving forward with it and _still_ writing up chapters. Not only that, but the chapter reviews of my story were _consequently _placed in the wrong chapters which would cause confusion to any new reader who would want to read the reviews as a means of making sense of the story. To that end, I've decided to re-upload this as a means of correcting this issue and to prevent any further issue. To anyone else who visits in the future, please don't add any OC review at all. I am sorry for any befuddlement that must be confusing your minds at the moment.**

**Also, to any reviewer/reader who's caught this update by email, please don't leave a review at the moment.**


	2. Chapter 1- A Change of Coast

_Hello Everyone, now I know that I haven't been active in the website for a while, but this is due to schoolwork. Now for sometime, I've been working on a plan to introduce my character to you guys, also this will be done in First-Person POV as it will be easier on my brain. This story will feature flashbacks of Thomas' past and what he had done before traveling to Los Santos as the story progresses. If you still want to add an OC, now is the time to do so, as by the 3r__d or 4th__ chapter I might not add more of them. The 1st official chapter will start off in a city I'm sure you guys are familiar with. The chapter's setting takes place in Liberty City before the events of GTA Online.  
_

_**Update (4/10/15)**: Since I'm changing the story to Third-Person, just assume that the first Nine chapters are just from Thomas's perspective._

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Chapter 1: A Change of Coast

**Time and Place: Late March****-Early April of 2013, 6:00pm, Algonquin, Liberty City**

Today is my last day here in Liberty City. God, I'm going to miss a lot of things that I've seen and witnessed here in this city. I'm going to miss my apartment, friends and family (So glad I have MyRoom and LifeInvader…), but I have to go away. There are some things that have haunted me since I came back from the Middle East.

There's some crap I wish I could erase from my time there. Seeing people being tortured and watching less than half of your squad die, is not a good thing to see. No thanks to those episodes, I've suffered from mild PTSD and I've felt so damn upset since. I've been resorting to marijuana to escape the pain of it and some smoking (knowing it's really bad, no joke amigo!). I've used marijuana from my time in high school up till College, but with what's been going on, I need it for my own purposes; Been doing freelance work, but I've been getting less pay due to the economy in the toilet. However, there's always a change of coast. Glad I met this dude named Lamar about racing and some "special" opportunities he would give me. So I'm like, "Hell yeah, I'm up for what you got." Lamar then messaged me, "Aight' homie. Come down to Los Santos and let's see what you got!" The rest is history.

Before leaving, I tell my friends and family (messaged my brother, Marcus who's stationed in a U.S military base in Japan telling him that I was moving to Los Santos for a change) goodbye. Then I called in a taxi to come pick me up for Francis International Airport. So I get in the van and there's an Arabic guy in the front. Tells me his name is Muhammed, and this dude is literally THE WORST! This guy tells me about how he screwed around with some tourists, talks major bullcrap about some dude named Niko, saying that he used to transport this guy for some missions he did for mob bosses (LC has some of the worst crime rates I've seen), but was in his words, "a total freeloader."

I asked him if he could change the radio station from Tuff Gong to The Beat 102.7 and Muhammed gives me bullshit for asking me that. I'm like, "Dude, can you not be a dick right now?! We're close to the goddamn airport and yet you make a big deal about this crap?" This joker says, "Screw You, Asshole! This is my radio station and you had better stuff your dick up your ass! However, since I've never had you as a customer, I'll show you mercy since I won't have to put with your face again!"

The taxi stops at Francis International and I tell Muhammed goodbye. Instead of doing the same thing, he flips me the bird and drives out of the distance. I think to myself, "I hope someone hijacks his vehicle and crashes it into the ocean. Sheesh, no wonder this city has some jerk offs!"

I go inside, check myself into the plane and get onboard. I check the time and its 7:30 pm. I message Lamar, "I'm coming down to LS." He messages back, "Got you fool! I'll be waiting for you outside of the airport." I then decide to rest for the first few hours of the trip until the plane pilots let everyone know that we were close to Los Santos. Then I put on my headphones as the song, "Change of Coast" by Neon Indian starts to play.

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_So there you have it! My first official chapter into The Life and Times of Thomas Marston. I hope that I've satisfied you guys with this chapter. Stay tuned, more on the way. Thanks for reading and I will see you guys later. Please leave feedback. _


	3. Chapter 2- Welcome to Los Santos Part 1

_12/10/14: Hello, everyone! Sorry that I haven't been available for some time. I've been busy with schoolwork and my exams are on the horizon. So I might not be available throughout next week. Due to this, I will try to push out another chapter this week, if possible. Anyway, I wish to thanks those who've viewed my story as I've gotten 88 views as of this month. BTW, there might be some altered dialogue with this story, as your main Online character is technically silent in the game., but I'm giving mine a lot of freedom. Shoutout to those who've left OC reviews as some of them will be included in later chapters. Thank you so much! Now on with the story._

Chapter 2: Welcome to Los Santos

**Time: ****10:30 pm; Los Santos, San Andreas**

I wake up a few minutes before the time I initially hoped for. I check my phone and it's 10:30 pm at night. As I adjust my body to stretch out, I hear the pilot over the intercom saying, "_We are now entering Los Santos Airspace. We hope that you've enjoyed the trip. Thanks for flying on FlyUS." _As the plane flys over Los Santos, I look at the window to catch a glimpse of the city and I'm fascinated by the sights; Then I think to myself, _"I could see myself staying here a bit longer." _Not long after, the plane lands and I manage to leave the airport.

So I'm waiting for Lamar to get here to pick me from here and I see a car coming up. Relieved, I then said, "Finally, the cavalry has shown up!" Then, I hear Lamar say, "What it do, you big ol' pimp you?"

"Hey there, Lamar. Never thought this would actually happen!"

Lamar laughs and says, "I see you up in this motherfucker now, huh? That's what I'm talking about come here, come holla at your boy. Man, it's good to finally meet you."

"The feeling is way mutual, my man!"

"After all that time on LifeInvaders, we friends in real life, huh? Look at you, dude… You're like much smaller than you looked in your picture. But fuck it, it don't matter." Said Lamar.

"Yeah, thanks for saying that. By the way, where are we going?" I said.

"Uh, yeah. We're going to North Los Santos. Going to do a race, my homie. With all the drifting, bumper crashing and all that shit." After that, he gives me a pistol and talks about some connections he has in the city, mentioning some guy named Simeon (who's some weird car dealer) and Hao, some mechanic Lamar called up to set us up for a race in Northern Los Santos.

While Lamar was driving, I took some sights of Uptown LS. I've got to admit, the Oriental Theater really looks good despite it being old! Vinewood must be doing something right, if they could do the same thing with those shitty TV shows and those crappy, "poor-excuse budget" films they've been releasing.

Lamar and I finally arrive at our location and we park close to the area where the race will begin.

"Yeah dog, this the spot right here. Go post up right there real quick while I make this call. We gonna get you a car or something to race in or stare at the back of my shit in cause you gonna eat my dust, punk."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking, Lamar. We'll see whose last." I replied with a smug smirk.

Now don't get me wrong, I've done races before in my life back when I was in high school. Really wasn't the best driver on the block, but before I came down to Los Santos, I went into underground races in LC. Won a bunch of money and lost some on racing bets. Guess it was the need for speed.

So a couple of drivers come by and allow me to pick a vehicle to choose from. Well, Lamar's car is a four-door, so I would need something fast to outrace this fool. I then proceeded to pick out a red Vapid Stanier. From what people say, the Vapid Stanier is really reliable on tuning, turning, flexibility, and all that jazz.

So afterwards, we begin racing. Apparently, we're supposed to race from Eclipse Boulevard, through Rockford Plaza, past the golf club, and back. I am really going to smash out my windows if Lamar wins, that or flip him off.

We park out cars at the starting lines and a girl in skimpy, jean shorts with a white tanktop on comes out. She's carrying two white flags in both of her hands. We both then start our engines as the adrenaline rushes through both our veins. Then the race begins.

"Right up here, homie. I'm about to go nice and slow for yo bitch-ass!" said Lamar, with a cocky persona.

"Okay, then. Watch and see who's in charge!" I said with some smugness in my tone.

So we move uphill and I'm trying to dodge traffic as best as I can. Unfortunately, my car catches a few scratches and bumps from narrowly crashing into other cars, but I manage to catch up to Lamar.

"Okay, so now you want me to start trying to catch up?" Lamar said with surprise.

"Yeah, try harder, son." I said with enthuasism.

Lamar and I are nearby the gulf club and I see him catching up. Then an idea sparked up in my head. I noticed a car nearby and I performed a Pit maneuver to knock out Lamar, who was probably less than 3 feet away.

"Really, Thom? Alright, I see how you do."

"Hey, it's called looking around your environment, bro."

I make a few turns around a couple blocks and I finished first amongst us. Afterwards, I park my car and Lamar parks his.

"Yeah, yeah. If you don't get off my phone with this bullshit. Man, some people are so clingy." Said Lamar as he got off the phone.

"Hey yo, that race was damn good."

"I know, right? Hey, you trying to make some cheese? My boy, Gerald aka "G". He's trying to look for somebody lowkey right now. And to be 1000, I'm thinking you. Look, there's a big exchange of merchandise going down. The Vagos and the Ballas are squashing their 'cultural differences' or what the fuck ever. Anyway, why don't you go down there and shake up the free market economy a little bit and get some cheese."

So I readily depart for the job Lamar told me. Well, I guess I'm learning the ropes…

_And that's the end of Chapter 3. I recently made a decision to update the story 1-2 weeks, if possible. Given the DLC's added to GTA Online, all the weapons, clothes, and so on will be included in the story. Also, to those who've been reading my story, I wish to say this. Thanks for your continued support over the weeks, along with those who've managed to put up with the story not being updated in quite a while. As for the reviewers who've kept up, I will feature your OC's 2-3 chapters within the story, less if possible. Thank you all and Godspeed. (12/13/14)_


	4. Chapter 3- Welcome to Los Santos Part 2

_Hello everyone. I'll be announcing that I won't be able to update the story for this week because of Midterm Exams. So I will try and publish one or two chapters to make up for this week. Anyway, this chapter is the second and final part of Welcome to Los Santos. The mission that occurs in this is known as "Learning the Ropes." from Grand Theft Auto Online. Due to sheer tiredness and laziness (it was 1:45 AM in the morning), I decided to make a two-part "episode" chapter. What you will read from this chapter is Thomas stealing drugs for Gerald and the rest is history (if you've played GTA Online, you would know this). Anyway, back to the story._

**Chapter 4: Welcome to Los Santos Part 2**

After our discussion, I proceeded to get into my car and drive down to where the deal was taking place. This took me no less than two minutes since I was practically speeding by traffic. I've got to say though, the traffic in the city is no less worse than Liberty City, where traffic can be heavily congested.

Anyway, I manage to arrive to where the deal is going down. So, I drift my car to the other side of the road , get out of my car, grab my pistol, and walk into the alleyway. While I'm doing this, some guy with blue, baggy jeans and a purple, plaid shirt approaches me.

"Hey man. What are you doing here?!" the guy replied questionably.

"Oh, me? Nah, I'm just waltzing in here, not trying to do something drastic and dangerous. No wait, that's what I'm here to do. Give up the fucking drugs, bitches!"

"Hey guys. We got a fuckboy ready to taste lead in his dome. Get him!" said the angry gangbanger.

So begins the brawl. I quickly draw out my pistol and shoot about five bullets into the first guy. Then I put myself against the wall for cover. From the corner of my eye, I see one Ballas member moving for cover behind a crate, so I quickly shoot at him four times in the abdomen and falls down to the ground.

"Do you want some more, you assholes!?" I said boastfully.

"Shut the fuck up and let us kill you son!" one of the Vagos shouted.

"Oh well, guess I gotta snuff the life out of y'all." I said dryly.

I then reload my pistol with another magazine and seek out another enemy. One Vagos guy is in open space, but quickly shoots me in my right hip with three rounds. I hide behind cover and shoot the living lights out of the guy who wounded me with three other rounds. However, I'm feeling some pain from the injuries, but I manage to perform a combat roll nearby another crate in order to seek cover.

Without wasting too much time, I quickly blind fire six rounds into the air, but two of them hit a guy who exposed himself in the open. There are about two more guys remaining, so I reload another magazine into my pistol. Afterwards, I pop out of cover and shot a Ballas member. I search for the last one, who is hiding behind another crate. Aiming for a clean shot, I notice that his foot is a bit extended, so I then fire at him and he lets a painful scream.

"You son of a bitch! My foot!" the gang member shouted

"Well, life's a bitch, now is it not?" I boasted.

"Now, before I put a bullet into your goddamn skull and leave you departing for the afterlife. Just one thing, where are the drugs?" I asked the gangbanger .

"My homie ran off to Strawberry, probably. You might see him running away."

"Why thank you so much for the info, bitch. By the way, the name's Thomas. Thomas Marston." Afterwards, I shot him in the head and left to get the drugs.

With no time to waste, I search for the guy that is running away and I quickly spot him. I grab out my pistol and perform a drive-by on him. Then, I quickly get out of the car, pick up the drugs, and call Lamar.

"Hey Lamar, this is Thom. I got the goods, plus I'm on the way."

"Good, dawg! Lemme send you the coordinates I'm at Gerald's ." Lamar stated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Soon after, I arrived towards Forum Drive and showed up at Lamar's location, which was outside an apartment complex.

"Hey G, come out here man. My boy, Thomas is here."- Lamar said as he called Gerald

"Hey dog, how are you doing?" I gave Lamar a fist pump, then Gerald comes out of his apartment.

"It's nice to meet you, Gerald."

"Well, goddamn, you antisocial motherfucker, you gonna speak?!" Lamar angrily told Gerald.

"Hey." Gerald said to me. (No wonder Lamar said what he said. This dude's shut like a mouse in a church!)

"See, I told you. Y'all gonna get along great! I told you. By the way, give him the dope." Lamar told me.

"Yeah, alright here. It's alright don't bother counting it. You got anything else interesting, bring it my way." Gerald dryly stated towards me.

"See, what did I tell you, motherfucker. He likes you. And now you got you some bread, what you need to do is get you some motherfucking gear, cause you look bummy as fuck."

I look at my clothing and all I'm wearing is a Stank v-neck shirt with faded, blue jeans. That to me, is not "bummy as fuck."

"You can't be walking around me looking like that. You need to better represent-ate yourself. You know what I'm talking about. Hey G, don't get lost fool. Come on, man. Tear that shit off, man. I need my commission, G!" With those words, I left the complex.

I check the time and it's late at night, say around 2:00 AM. Usually, I would look for a place to stay, but given the situation at hand, I decided to sleep in my Stanier for the night.

The morning comes by, and it's 8:30 in the morning. I woke up, sleeping in the same clothes I arrived in. You could say that I was practically living like a bum in the slums of Liberty City. The first thing I remembered to do was go to a clothing store, as Lamar put to "better represent-ate myself."

What I did first, since I didn't know all of LS was set up a GPS or "waypoint" as people here like to call it. I searched for a clothes store and I found one at Sinner Street. As I'm driving, I tune the radio to West Coast Classics and the song, "Worst Comes to Worst" by Dilated Peoples comes on. To be sincere with you all, I miss the times when rappers would actually have something to rap about instead of money, chains, and girls with no self-esteem.

Anyway, I go into the store and there are numerous options to choose from. For me, I have a good taste in urban clothing and footwear, as I'm a huge fan of Hip-Hop and Alternative music. Looking for some clothing to wear, I found a red, checkered shirt (with a long-sleeve white shirt underneath) and regular, blue jeans. Soon, I went for a black Los Santos hat and grey sports kicks.

Anyway, I left the store to go eat breakfast at Bite's since I was feeling hungry. Afterwards, I get a call from Lamar.

"Hello?" I asked Lamar over the phone.

"Hey, hey, it's your boy LD… If you need some cheese real quick, come fuck with me. We got licks all over town just waiting to get hit. Just walk in with the blam blam and point it at the fool over the counter. He gonna break bread. And they insured, don't nobody give a fuck no way. It's all good. I've been peeping this one spot where they've been making a gang of bread, you down with that shit?"

"Hell yeah, I'm down. Need the money while I'm still livin." I said with confidence

"Now I knew I saw something in you, dawg. Alright, let me send you the coordinates."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the phone call ends, I went to East LS to the store Lamar told me to rob. Now, let me be honest with you all when I say this, but I have never robbed a store. Yes, in some shape or form, I'm a virgin for that. Go ahead and laugh if you will.

Before robbing the store, I take in a few breaths, afterwards, I get out of my car and head off to the store. There I see alcohol merchandise, snacks and a bunch of other items. An Asian-American clerk is behind the counter and he greets me.

"What can I get you today, sir?"

With that being said, I quickly grab out my pistol and point it towards the clerk (just like Lamar said.)

"Listen Mister, I got no time for your bullshit, so please empty all the dead presidents in that damn register today or I'll empty out something else!" I told the clerk with harsh authority in my voice.

"Okay, Okay!"

*Shoots at various items in the store*; "Come on, I don't have all day. Hurry up right now or you'll be sorry for wasting my time!" I tell the clerk with anger building in me.

The clerk finally finishes and gives me the stolen cash, but as I notice my surprise, some girl comes out of nowhere and tries to kill me. In order to quickly outdo her, I perform a combat roll and shot her four times in the stomach. However, I did shoot at the security camera in the store to make sure the cops don't detect me.

I get out of the store, slide across the hood of my car, and turn on my car. If there's one thing that I've learned as my time as a mercenary, cops patrol the streets, not the wilderness. So instead of doing those awesome police chases that you watch on TV, I went up towards those green hills and hid up there from the pigs for about 3-5 minutes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later on, I'm driving on Power Ave and I receive a phone call from an unknown number. _When will it end?_

"Hello, who is this?" As I asked the person on the other end.

"Hello, this is Simeon-my friend Lamar told me to call you – he said you were something of a big shot, only with an inadequate sense of style." _Thanks, Lamar…_

"Maybe you should improve yourself with a fine car. I've got a friend at Los Santos Customs who can help you out… for sure."

"Thanks, but how am I going to obtain one?"

"Simple, you steal it. Have a good day." Said Simeon.

_So now I have to get a vehicle… _For me, looking for a car around a city as large as Los Santos isn't a problem. All I need to do is hijack someone's vehicle or look for a parked car around certain areas. As I'm looking around for a good car, I noticed a red Bravado Buffalo parked by Legion Square.

No one is nearby my location, so I smashed out the Driver's window and got in the vehicle. Since the keys weren't there, I had to hotwire the car. I got out of there and drive towards LS Customs. There I spoke to the mechanic.

"Hey there, what can I do for you today?" the mechanic spoke in a courteous manner.

"I'm going to need a tracker and insurance for this Gauntlet, along with new car keys." I said to the mechanic.

After some minutes of waiting, changing out the color scheme to a black and purple design, and working on the car a bit. I managed to complete Simeon's request.

Afterwards, my phone is ringing and it's Simeon.

"Simeon, what is it now?"

"I'm calling to let you know that since I gave you a free ride to modify and own a car, you'll be doing me jobs from now on."

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me here! I never wanted to work for you" I said in complete exasperation.

"I'm not kidding, my son. This is business that I'm doing. Besides, you'll get pay from me anyway. Goodbye."

"_Damn it! What next?"_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX_

I swear on my life that I was pretty pissed at the situation. Working for a faux car dealer?! Is there anyone else who's in that situation as I am right now? All of a sudden, I receive a text from Gerald telling me to "prove my worth" at Cypress Flats since he wants to test my gun skills before working for him.

Later on, I arrive at Cypress Flats and there I see about seven people there.

"Anyone sent up here by some antisocial drug dealer to prove their worth?" I said to all of them.

"Yeah." Said everyone there.

"So what's in it for all of us?" I said to them.

"Apparently, whoever lives, depending on the team or the time limit, which is nine minutes, will receive a good amount of money. This whole Deathmatch concept has been around for a while." Said an Asian guy

"Well, that's a sick concept isn't it? The whole thing's insane."

"Deal with it, yo. Some crime bosses do this to separate the weak from the strong."

So the rest of us are arranged into teams of four and I meet the rest of them.

"Hey, name's Thomas. Thomas Marston."

"Marston? You share the same name of the guy from the book, 'Red Dead'. The name's Miles Roth."

"Nice to meet you, Miles. I get that a lot from people. What about you guys?" I asked the others.

One of the two mercs speaks up. Has a Midwest accent in him.

"Name's Austin Johnson. I've read Red Dead as well. Wish I could write as well as your ancestor, Thomas!"

Soon, I noticed a Chinese/English girl in my midst.

"Alright. Hey, you pretty lady. What about you?"

"Name's Maddie. Maddie Bellamy, from Liberty City."

"Wait a minute… I've seen your face before. Weren't you doing time for that failed Carcer City heist you did with a crew. I could have sworn you were still in prison."

"Nope, I had a damn good lawyer, got two years, Mama Dukes disowned me, had a falling out with a friend; came down to Los Santos for a fresh beginning." Maddie stated to me.

"Damn, that's the best summary of anyone's life that I've ever heard. That's quicker than college professors trying to explain a simple concept to their students."

"I did go to college for a while until the passing of my dad happened. Then I fell into the underworld of America afterwards just to support myself and my mother."

After the whole convo, everyone got ready. We all went in teams of two in order to help assist one another. Austin and I went through an alleyway and drove a yellow Gauntlet to see where the enemies where. It was a good idea, since we noticed two guys moving across the street to get to another alleyway.

We got out of the car and started to sprint towards the alleyway opposite of where we were. By the time we got there, two of them had split into different directions, but one was nearby running towards us as I could hear footsteps.

I told Austin to take cover behind the crate beside me as I spotted a Caucasian man with a white v-neck and black cargo pants is running towards a garbage dumpster for cover.

Spotting him, I managed to give him five shots in his abdomen; however, he performed a combat roll at the last shot, shoots me twice in both my left shoulder and my arm, but I manage to kill him.

Austin and I move up towards the alleyway adjacent from where both of us are standing. As we're running towards the end, a black male with a white hoodie, purple shirt, and blue jeans is on top of a roof, shooting at both me and Austin.

We search for cover, until Austin shouts out, "Follow me!" Turns out, he found a staircase at the side of a grey building which leads up to a rooftop. We both search for cover at a ledge, until Austin spots the guy and shot him directly in the head, causing him to fall down to the hard ground, bleeding out.

"Dang, Austin. That's pretty nasty what you did to that fool." I said with complete awe.

"I usually go to the AmmuNation gun stores sometimes, to sharpen up my gun skills. You should come sometime." Austin stated to me.

"I will, thanks for the advice."

"Let's go see the others. Hope they're still alive." Austin said in complete worry

We go the meeting area, and by grace, they're still alive.

"Miles, Maddie! You guys okay?" I asked both of them

"Yeah. Only with a couple wounds." Miles stated.

"Gerald should be available right now. I'm really hoping he pays us well for this shit or there will be hell to pay!" Maddie stated to us.

"I'll call Gerald to let him know." I said to everyone else around me.

So I dialed Gerald's number to let him know that all of us are alive.

"Hey G. I'm alive and so is my team. Now how about the money you offered?"

"Yeah, fool. Course I got the money. Let me send it to all of your bank accounts for assurance. How does 7,580 dollars sound?"

"Hell yeah, G!" I said in complete excitement

"Good, I'll be having more jobs for you all to do. Peace."

I ended the call and let everyone know about the development.

"Said he'll put in our accounts. It's all good"

After the whole thing was over, we gave each other our numbers and went on our merry ways…

_Alright! Finally, the chapter is done! This took me over the course of six days to complete. Probably, the longest chapter I've ever worked on for this story. I apologize to those whose OC's weren't included. One thing that I can promise is that they will be featured in Strangers and Freaks styled chapters. For those who are asking, "Who the hell are Miles and Maddie?" They're OC's I created to expand the cast a bit. I got one more I want to show in later chapters._

_One issue that I'll have to deal with is the whole "GTA Online Heists" trailer and past DLCs. Given that Heists will be up in Early 2015, I'll need to go into great detail with those missions. As for the previous DLC's, I'll have to figure out a way to explain all of the content in the story. By the way, I'll be on vacation next week. Thank you to those who've been reading it this far. I can't thank you enough. Peace out._


	5. Chapter 4- Relax Back

Chapter 4- Relax Back

_Hello, my fellow reviewers and readers. This is Tom tha Author here. I'm just here to say thanks to those who've been following and reviewing my story thus far. The story has gotten over 300 views and 50 visitor viewing my own story and I wanted to say thank you. I only care about putting out a good story for all to read, so that's what I'm going to do. Anyway, I'm back from my vacation and I hope you guys had a good Christmas. So, I'm going to continue the story from where I last left off…_

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**The Next Day: 11:30 AM**

So to further explain, what happened since yesterday, I checked into the Pink Cage Motel since I had more than $8,000 dollars in my account. They offered up a pretty decent deal for those who checked into the motel such as having air-conditioned TV rooms and a swimming pool. With the money that I have now, I barely feel broke.

Sometime after eating breakfast, I decide to give the people that I met a call, asking anyone of them if they wanted to hang out. The only person who I was able to contact was Austin.

"Hey Austin! It's me Thomas, from yesterday." I said to Austin over the phone.

Austin replied back, "Hey Thomas. How are you, man?"

"I'm good. Hey listen, I've been trying to hang out with some people. I was calling to see if you wanted to hang out."

"Uh… sure. I'll come and pick you up within a couple minutes."

"Thanks, Austin." With that being said, I then dropped the call.

A couple minutes later, I see a Bravado Buffalo Sports car. Austin honks, I then noticed Miles Roth with him.

"Hey there, Austin! I see you brought Miles along." I said as I greeted Austin.

"Uh, yeah. Asked him if he wanted to come." Austin had asked me.

"By the way, thanks Austin for doing that. Such a good man. So Thom, where to?" Miles asked

"I'm thinking Bahamas West Mamas. I heard it's a pretty good place to party at and there are hot, loose girls ready to get down and dirty over there!" I said with complete excitement.

"I'm not sure about that, Tom. I'm not even good at socializing with others and I can sometimes talk to myself. No girl would like that about a man."

"Look, Austin, if there's one thing that I've learned, girls love a man who can be himself." Miles told Austin with complete assurance

"You're right, Miles. We'll see if your theory's correct." Austin said to me with complete faith. Afterwards, we left for Bahamas Mamas West. During the drive, we struck up another conversation.

"So tell me Austin, where are you from?"

"I'm from the Midwest, where everyone can be a fucking bigot and not give a crap about your opinions. Due to people like them, I became reserved in high school and college as a result and left for Los Santos for a better view in life."

"Damn, Austin. Never knew you were raised in that environment." I said in complete awe.

"Well, yeah. Needed to get away from the chaos of it all. What about you?" Austin had stated.

"Me? Yeah, my family hails from the Southwest, where my ancestors John and Jack Marston used to live around during their time. Jack wrote the book, 'Red Dead' as a means to tell people the story of his father's exploits as an outlaw and a family man. I moved up to Liberty City to work for Merryweather Security after leaving the Marines when I was 20. Worked for them for about four long years until a surprise ambush wiped out my entire team; Traumatized me to the point where I resigned from Merryweather afterwards; Went on to do mercenary work for two years; All of a sudden, I wind up on the West Coast, so it's been like that ever since."

"Wow, I don't know what to say…" Miles said with complete awe.

"Maybe thank you very much? Miles, what about you?."

"I'm from Baltimore, Maryland. Decent place, humble beginnings, pretty good city to grow up in. When I was fifteen, I fell into the wrong crowd; Got involved in some stupid gangbanging bullcrap, got out of that a year later; Went to College to learn Mechanics. Things were going great until my parents died in a car accident. Afterwards, fell into a depression for 3 to 4 months until Lamar contacts me on LifeInvader, all of a sudden, I'm here."

I acknowledged Miles' story, "Not bad, Miles. Seems everyone has a past to share."

We later arrive at our destination, got out of the car and there is a small line outside of Bahama Mamas West. It took about less than five minutes to get into the club.

(A/N: Think of the club's interior in GTA: TBOGT only more improved, also has colors of black and blue.)

* * *

Once we got in, it was paradise in my eyes. The whole place was well detailed. It contained an upstairs floor, some bodyguards, dance floor, a couple bars, and bathrooms. It was better than the one in Liberty City.

We started to go towards the bar until Austin said something.

"Hey guys. I believe one of us should drive sober since anybody among us will get so drunk, we might regret things that will happen soon like giving head to unknown people, STDs and the sorts."

"Not a bad thought, Austin. Since you picked both me and Miles up in your Buffalo, I think you should drive."

"Thanks, Thomas. I was going to say the same thing."

Miles asked, "Wait, why did you want to do this?"

"I have my own personal morals to live up to." Austin told us in honest sincerity.

From there, Miles and I head towards the bar to get drunk while Austin asks for some non-alcoholic wine. I'm going to spare you the details that occurred from that point onward. Both me and Miles drank up to six bottles of Pibwasser and Logger Beer; Got drunk and danced like retards who barely knew how to dance; I puked on Miles's shoes and got a black eye as a result, which he apologized for.

From my assumptions due to my state of drunkenness, I think we left an hour after arriving there. Anyway, the three of us were having a discussion over the nightclub. Miles and I were still drunk, while Austin was not. Pretty unfair, don't you think?

"I still can't believe you punched me in the fucking eye, Miles. You're a soft-ass bitch for doing that." I said in a drunken stupor.

"Hey if you got a problem, then settle it you bitch! Let's go right now."

"Yo, both of you better shut the hell up or you're both getting left behind. Maybe I should let you guys get arrested for public intoxication."

I replied, "Alright, dude! No need to get so hard on us."

"Thank you for giving me the correct answer. Let's go guys."

"Wait just one minute, Austin. I saw you talking it up to some girl over there earlier. Who is she?" Miles asked.

"Well if you must know, her name is Jamila. Works at LifeInvader, claims to be something of a gangbanger, needed better income for profit, so I told her about what I do for a living. Told me she's considering it."

"Well, the more the merrier."

After that discussion, Austin dropped both me and Miles off to our living places. I went to my motel room at the Pink Cage Motel, applied ice to my black eye, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Hey guys. I apologize for having taken too long to complete this chapter. I was dealing with some writer's block and some personal issues, but I'm okay. This 5__th__ Chapter was supposed to be a GTA Online mission, but I scrapped since I didn't want it to become repetitive. So I made the decision to make this one a laid-back chapter with some partying. Chapter Six will involve the mission, "Ballas to the Wall" along with those good ol' OC's we've come to know and love. And I also wish you guys a Happy New Year for 2015. Hope this year treats you all well!_

_Update (01/10/15): Hey guys, I'm sorry for not having updated this story for so long. It's 1:29 AM in the East Coast and I've been busy with schoolwork, now that school's back in session. That's why I haven't been able to be active. I'm still working on Chapter 6 as of now so it should be done by tomorrow, if possible. I wish to thank those who've been following, favoriting, and reading the story. I will return sooner than later. Stay tuned, readers!_


	6. Chapter 5- Ballas to the Wall

**Chapter 5-Ballas to the Wall**

**The Next Morning: 10:00 AM, the Pink Cage Motel; Intersection of Hawick Ave and Meteor Street**

The alarm in my inn room buzzes loudly nearby me. Already annoyed by the sound and a hangover, I woke up to muster as much strength as I could to shut the alarm off.

"_It is 10' o clock in the morning?! Crap, I feel like I just finished surgery. Why did I have to drink those six beers yesterday night?! "_

I attempt to get out of bed to no avail and suddenly feel bile rising out of me. Not wanting to make a mess, I quickly ran to the toilet and barfed all of it out while on my knees. I swear to God, if I drink more than what I drank last night, I'll just quit alcohol altogether.

Due to my condition, I decided against performing any task for the day and went to rest my hangover.

* * *

**_Three Hours Later… 1:00 PM  
_**

The alarm clock buzzes for me to wake up. I check my phone for the time and its 1:00 PM in the afternoon. I'm surprised that it took me a couple of hours to even recover from that shitty hangover.

I also notice a text message notification from Lamar on my phone and it reads:

"_The dude I do some work for over at Premium Deluxe Motorsport needs a car repoed. I said you was new and in need of gainful, so thank me later for the hookup. It's a mark over in Jamestown who missed the note on a purple Schafter. This Ballas turf, you know what I'm saying, so look out and don't mention LD. Peace_" –Lamar.

"_So now I have to do Lamar this favor, how nice! I already know who he's doing it for." I thought to myself._

With this development, I decided to call anyone on my contact list that I have since going up against a group of Ballas would be foolhardy. I called Miles and Austin, but they told me they were in a race against some other drivers, so which left me with Maddie.

_Best I might call her or else, I'll have no choice, but to go solo._

I then proceeded to call Maddie. "Hello, Maddie? This is Thom Marston. The guy with slick, black hair that you met at that gun job Gerald sent us on?"

"Hey, Thom! What do you need?" She inquired from me.

"Listen, Lamar sent me a text message about some Schafter that he needed to recover for Simeon. Text says it's in Ballas territory. I'll need the extra hand to retrieve the car." I told her with precise memory

"Hmm… We're going to need some weaponry for this, also some body armor. I've been watching the Underbelly of Paradise about the Ballas and the Families and they are not to be fucked with. So we'll need to be cautious."

"Thanks for the info, Maddie. Meet me at the AmmuNation store in Little Seoul. The one nearby the Hit n Run coffee shop."

With that, Maddie then drops the call. I then proceeded to move out of my room and head towards my Gauntlet. Since I'm more of a speed demon when it comes to very important tasks, I speed my way across traffic to get to Little Seoul in time.

* * *

Some minutes after driving across Los Santos traffic, I finally arrive at the AmmuNation store and I see Maddie, who is sporting a black ponytail with blue torn jeans, a black bomber jacket and a white tanktop. I also notice her yellow Karin Sultan opposite of the store. Seeing her there, I proceeded to get out of my vehicle to greet her.

"Hey Maddie! I'm here." I said as I greeted Maddie.

"Ah good, at least you weren't late. Alright, let's go into the store."

We both enter the store and we notice multiple military-grade weapons behind the clerk's counter. To the left of us, there's a collection of body armor nearby and other miscellaneous items nearby. Also to our right, there is a cooler containing alcoholic drinks and clothing on a rack. The clerk then greets us in a civilian manner.

"Hey there, you guys. What do you need today in good ol' AmmuNation? We got all the weapons that you need against Communists, un-Americans, Terrorists and those nasty son of a bitch Liberals!" the clerk said in complete gusto.

I whisper to Maddie, "Oh. He's one of those trigger-happy nutjobs that doesn't give two shits in the world and uses steroids as a means to inflate his ego." Maddie giggles in response

"What did you say?" the clerk asked. I swear to God this guy look like he came out of Vietnam, went into Mixed Marshall Arts, got washed out, and winded up having this job.

"Uhh… Nothing sir. Just sharing a good joke with my friend here." I replied with a hint of worry in my voice.

"Okay then. Continue with what you're were doing." The clerk replied.

Maddie told the clerk, "Actually, we're here to buy some weaponry. It's for a special occasion!"

"Alright then, what do you need?"

Maddie then picked out a Heavy Pistol, a Micro SMG and an AP Pistol; she also brought Heavy Body Armor. For me, all I did was buy an SMG (the normal kind), two Sticky Bombs, Standard Body Armor and a Pump Shotgun. No wonder some people protest against AmmuNation, I really wonder where they get all the weapons from?

Afterwards, we both got in our cars and left Little Seoul for Jamestown Street.

* * *

Once we arrive, we both park on the same block where the Schafter is. As we proceeded to approach the car, one Ballas member is nearby the car.

I warn the Ballas dude standing next to the rear end of the car, "Hey there. You nearby the Schafter, give it up! My boss wants the shit back right now."

"Man, fuck you and your bitch-ass boss. You ain't shit, matter of fact, both of you fools are gonna drop dead!" The Ballas member then grabbed out a Pistol and proceeded to shoot at us.

"Shit! Maddie, watch out. There's another at your 10'o clock!" I told her as I dodged the shot, but managed to hit me with two other rounds to my right side, but was protected by the vest. Felt like someone fired an airsoft bullet three times heavier than its normal weight.

I perform a combat roll towards where the guy is hiding, pulled out my Pump Shotgun, firing a full blast of the buckshot, dropping his dead body on the ground like a bug of bricks. Maddie on the other hand had dropped two Ballas with purple bandana and jean shorts to her left nearby a couple of apartment complexes.

"Maddie, look out! One's nearby you across from the alleyway." I warned her

During that time, two Ballas approach my location adjacent from where I'm standing. One is wearing a baggy white T-shirt with purple jeans and a "Ballas" tattoo on his forehead, while the other is wearing jean shorts and a Los Santos Panic tanktop.

Both are carrying Micro-SMGs and spray fire towards me. Most of the rounds miss me, but five hit my vest on impact like an NFL player charging towards you for a tackle. Temporarily thrown off, I quickly take cover behind the Schafter and fire my SMG towards both of them. I shot about eight rounds into both of them, but the stray fire hits parts of the car.

I manage to start the car and drive towards Maddie. We make a quick escape towards the dealership, but not before a SUV full of Ballas start to drive past us both.

"Thom, you better lose these bastards or else we'll be screwed!" Maddie said in a panicked tone.

"Don't worry, Maddie. We'll lose them. Hold on!"

With no time to lose, I picked up speed with the Schafter and drove the car towards the Vanilla Unicorn, parking nearby a green Bravado Buffalo.

"See what did I tell you? I told you we'd lose them."

"Not bad, Marston. For a guy who drives, you handle things under pressure, even when we got a bunch of gangbangers chasing us. I'm impressed!"

"Well, you know what they say, survival of the fittest. Anyway, let's deliver this car to Simeon's dealership. We're nearby the place."

Both Maddie and I arrive at Premium Deluxe Motorsport and we see Simeon coming out of the garage.

"Ah, perfect. Well, not perfect. Perfection is a cruel mistress, now isn't she?" Simeon said to us.

Maddie said, "Well, yes. If you're talking about getting shot at by numerous Ballas dudes for repossessing a car that you needed back, I would agree."

I then told Simeon in a stern voice, "We put our lives at risk for this shit, and you better pay us well."

"Be patient my boy, it will come! Anyway, I must continue with business. You may leave now. Goodbye."

Once we left, Maddie and I called a taxi to head on over to Jamestown Street to get our cars back. Luck was on our side since there was barely anyone around there.

"Overall, I think that was a good job with Jamestown. Not bad with the way things turned out."

"Yeah, couldn't agree more. Anyway, I'll see you some other time. See ya, Thom!"

We then both went our separate ways for the day. Once I got inside my Gauntlet, I went on my phone to check on my Maze Bank account, since I had transferred $90,250 of $150K in my Liberty City account from the times I had spent from performing mercenary work during the recession. Not enough pay for a hired gun, don't you think? I only did the transfer to move out of the Motel that I was staying in.

I later received a deposit of $25,750 in my account from Simeon. I guess threatening him was good enough. I heard from people that he was cheap at times.

I think to myself, _"Finally making moves in Los Santos!"_ With the feeling of accomplishment in me, I left Jamestown Street and went back home.

* * *

_Hey everyone, Tom Tha Author here. I just wanted to apologize for the long wait. It's been two weeks since I last updated this story and I wanted to upload this chapter as a gift for you all. I've been busy with schoolwork which has taken a toll on how much time I can spend on the story. Not only that, but my parents don't think I should be doing fanfiction as they believe it will lead to copyright infringement and that my story will be stolen. Personally, I do this for myself, but mostly for you all.  
_

_I love the Grand Theft Auto series as it is my #1 favorite video game series ever and I've always wanted to write up fanfiction about this. I've just turned eighteen years old and there are people my age typing up stuff like this. I'm not quitting this at all, that's for sure. There may come a time where I might have to go or take a hiatus, but you get the point. I've gained a lot of readers and over 800 views for this story, so why quit?! Anyway, Chapter 7 will soon be in the works. Anyone who has reviewed, please continue to do so and as for the Guest, who left the Carly De Santa OC backstory. I implore you not to use such an OC. I feel it's barely original at all.  
_

_I'm sorry, but it's the honest truth. One policy of mine for OC's is not to use the last name of any game/movie character as it does not fit into the universe and may cause conflict within the creative process of the story. For those reading this, please leave a review. I would appreciate it for constructive criticism and thoughtfulness. Thanks and peace out._


	7. Chapter 6- Home Sweet Home

**Two Days after the Jamestown Street Mission… 10:00 PM  
**

Well, today is the day that I move out of the Pink Cage Motel. Given that I had $116,000 from the Jamestown Street skirmish and the money transfer, I asked my older brother, Marcus a.k.a Marc for some extra cash which he did. Guy gave me $50,000 thanks to the extra income he's been getting from the military. I needed it because I didn't have enough left over for some good change.

Now, for those who don't know, Marc is my older brother by two years. For those who don't know our ages, I'm 26 years of age, he's about 28. The both of us are close as we looked out for each other, but we criticize one another for certain issues and jobs.

As for example, my former Merryweather occupation. He hated the Security organization for having their Shadow Wars over 20 countries or more and getting away with some incidents involving the murder of innocents in the Middle East.

What made him more upset that I had gotten involved with them and we didn't contact each other for months before my withdrawal from Merryweather. Nowadays, we're still on good terms and email each other from time to time.

Anyway, back to the present time. Before I moved out of the motel, I went on the internet to go myself a property from Dynasty 8 Real Estate's website. Apparently, they have good prices for their apartments, ranging from High-end to Low-end Apartments, so I brought an Apartment on 1115 Boulevard Del Perro since it could save me a good amount of money.

* * *

With that being settled, I packed the rest of my belongings into my Gauntlet and drove from the Motel all the way to Del Perro. It painfully took me twenty five minutes just to get there due to the traffic in this city! It's a pain in the ass just to get from place to place. Next time when I drive, I won't give a crap when I'm swerving across traffic. The quicker, the better.

I finally enter the apartment garage and part of the place looks like a second class garage. I've seen better while residing in Liberty City. Now, when I went upstairs, I was expecting a well-made apartment with some good lighting. This was not the case, before my two blue eyes was before me a "modern ghetto-styled" apartment.

"What in God's name is this bullcrap?" I shouted in the air.

From my surroundings, I can tell it's kind of messy for an apartment. There are some recent stains on the floor which I have no intentions of knowing where it came from and small parts of the carpet were torn into small pieces, exposing the bare blue floor. Part of the stone, grey walls of the living room were fading away in paint and the kitchen counter was somewhat dusty! What happened to spring cleaning in this city?!

Oh, that's not the only thing I have to say about this place. Some guy had the nerve to leave his belongings in the room that he had just moved out of. The room was something else though. It's small, but the walls have colors of light green and brown, around the closet area and the TV respectively.

The closet wasn't messy, but I couldn't say the same for the counter where the video game system and recording equipment were located. The white counter where the video game system was had a bunch of food left over from Burger Shot and the brown, multi-drawers counter with the recording equipment on top had a few vinyl records of Madd Dogg and others underneath it with two of the drawers halfway open. As for the bathroom, the lower half of the walls were filled with tiles of blue and brown, with the upper half possessing light brown colors. Unfortunately, the window beside the shower was dusty due to not being cleaned in a while

I became really frustrated and went downstairs to management to complain about the apartment. Next time, I should really save my money for a better one to stay in.

"Hey Mr. Manager of the Year, you didn't clean out some damned bum's apartment and the place is barely clean!" I angrily told the manager. Now this manager has dark red hair, overweight, sweaty, and has a moustache that's worthy of belonging to a molester. Also, his nametag reads "Donald".

The upset manager replied, "Well, I'm sorry 'Mr. I Need to shout at someone!' We haven't been doing well since this goddamned economy went down the toilet! Also, the guy who used to own it is dead. He died in a shootout between his gang, the Families and the Ballas some weeks ago. Guy never had any living relatives, so it's your problem now."

"_Damn it! Guess I'll have to throw away some of the items this guy owned. Plus, I'll need someone to refurbish the entire apartment. Can't look like I live in a piss-poor place."_

Due to the matter at hand, I threw out more than half of the items the dead man owned and gave them away for charity. The only ones I kept were the movie posters, sound system, record player, Exsorbeo 720 game system, and vinyl records since I thought it would go with the place. I was able to call a refurbisher to handle the apartment .

About 45 minutes pass by and the apartment's living space looks better. Everything about it looks cleaner than it did earlier. No more future rats, spiders and dirty places! I pay the cleaning service about $150 dollars and relax back for the rest of the day. I then proceeded to tune the radio to Radio Los Santos with Blu and Exile's "Soul Amazin (Steel Blazin')" came on.

I thought to myself, "_Home Sweet Home" _ as I drifted off to bed that night.

* * *

**Hey guys, Tom tha Author here. Just wanted to push out another chapter for you guys to make up for being missing from the website for the last two weeks. Now this chapter right here is more focused on some humor and lighthearted moments. I don't always want to do violent story chapters, sometimes it's good to do that in order to relax your mind. For the Exsorbeo 720, it's a parody of the real-life Xbox 360/One. For those who don't know who Madd Dogg is, he is an important character for GTA: San Andreas (a game which I've sadly never played). Marcus Marston is an OC who I introduced (sort of) in the 2nd Chapter of this story as I didn't feel like being the only Marston child would be a good thing for Thomas.  
**

**For the next chapter, the mission "Pier Pressure" from Gerald will be featured and some Online elements might be included. I'll also need to figure out how to explain the GTA Online DLC's for the story. PM me for ideas detailing that. I just want to thank those who've been reading this story so far and I want to give thanks as always. Hope you enjoy this one. It's on me. Thanks and peace out.**


	8. Chapter 7-Pier Pressure

Pier Pressure

**The Next Evening… 7:30 PM, 1115 Boulevard Del Perro**

Since yesterday, I've been spending time at my apartment for the morning and part of the afternoon. I've been chilling in here eating my lunch from the Up N Atom Burger nearby my apartment, which makes it pretty convenient for me to either walk there or ride my bicycle. On the other hand, I smoked weed from my bong which made the taste pretty amazing for me.

Personally, marijuana would be the only drug that I would smoke since all the others turn you into a complete mess of yourself. I'm not going out the way those fake-ass douches of Vinewood did, snorting and shooting up bullshit drugs into your system. Weed is completely natural for me.

Anyway, I've been sitting on my couch watching Moorehead Strikes Again and I receive a call from Miles. I try to find my phone, but turns out I left on top of my kitchen counter so I went to get it.

"Hello, Miles? What is it, dude?" I ask Miles in a lazy tone.

"Austin and I are going to the Vanilla Unicorn. You know, place where you get to view nice curvy babes, see tits, the usual. You coming?"

"Uhh… sure! No problem, Miles. I'll meet you within 40 minutes or less. Give me some time, alright?"

"Okay, Thomas. See you there!"

I went to change out of my clothes, which was me simply wearing a white t-shirt and black short pants. Looking for some good clothing to wear to the strip club, I put a red plaid shirt with a long-sleeve white shirt underneath, some blue denim jeans, and a pair of black sneakers.

**Not too bad, Thom. Not too bad**_. _I thought to myself.

With that being settled, I went to my garage and drove my Bravado Gauntlet to the Vanilla Unicorn. My drive to the strip club was a bit messy since I was coming down off my high from the weed I smoked.

Fortunately, I didn't hurt anyone except a few scratches on my car around my trunk and the sides of my car. It only took me about 20 minutes just to get there. I park in front of the club, got out of my vechiles and see Austin and Miles there.

"Austin, Miles! Your boy is here." I said to the both of them with a cocky smile.

"Aw, yeah! I knew you'd make it through! Anyway, let's go inside and see some nice sets of tits." Miles said with cheer.

We went inside and the interior is amazing. The lighting of the club is da There's a bar with an aquarium, a shelf full of alcoholic bottles, and other items. Nearby is the booth where the DJ plays mixes of popular songs and does the announcement for the next stripper to come out. Since there's only one pole available for all of the strippers in the club to use.

Beside the three of us are the open booths where the guys flirt with the strippers and there's a door that leads to the private rooms. The good thing out of this is that we still get to touch the strippers without being kicked out.

"So what do you think, Thomas?" Austin asked me.

"This is better than The Triangle Club in Bohan, but nearly as good as the Honkers in Alderney City." I responded to his question.

"Alright, enough chit-chat guys! Come on, let's take a good view." Miles said

"Are you really this desperate to see some girl's breasts up close or are you going to take photos of her and try to take her home with you?" Austin asked Miles in an annoyed tone.

"The first one is a yes, the second might come later when I'm three bottles deep."

I sighed saying, "Come on guys, let's not waste any time here."

We all head down to get a view of the next stripper and the DJ announces who the next stripper is coming out of the curtain.

"Here comes our next stripper, let's give it up for Chastity!"

Everyone cheers her on as she makes her way to the pole. As far as appearance comes, she looks good. She has short black hair, black lipstick, and brown eyes which isn't bad for someone like her. Some people are throwing money at her and others make dirty comments. She begins pole dancing and the three of us start having a conversation.

"Well, Thomas. Aren't you glad that you came here?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, everything looks good around here. No tacky designs and no fake breasts on those strippers. This is great!"

"Ahh… I for one most enjoy the view around here. I'm going to drink down some whiskey, then try and get a private dance." Austin said to the both of us.

"Same here. I'm going to drink and hit on some of them." Said Miles.

"As for yours truly, I'm going to spend some time watching Chastity over there." I told Miles and Austin.

I went over to the stripper stand nearby while Miles and Austin went over to drink at the bar. Gotta admit though, watching a stripper doing what she does isn't so bad. Anyway by the time Chastity is done with her set, I hear a sound from my phone. I went to check my phone for messages and I received one from Gerald.

I went to check the message and it reads:

**"_Sticking punks up is the perfect hustle for a new kid in town. Marks ain't gonna recognize you, won't be able to come back. Take advantage of that low profile at a meet under the Del Perro pier. l don't care what happens to the Lost and Vagos dudes involved, long as the product finds its way to my spot. Oh yeah, there will be some change in it for you._"**\- Gerald

_Del Perro Pier? Isn't that where the ferris wheel and all that festival stuff is?" I thought to myself_

Given the fact that all three of us are at the VU and that Miles and Austin might be drunk, I went to go inform them about what happened

"Hey guys, Gerald just sent me a message about a drug deal taking place under the Del Perro Pier so I'm going to need some people to contact."

Austin said, "I might be able to join up with you on that, but Miles is already drunk as hell right now. I'm going to take him to his apartment at San Vitas Boulevard. I'll contact you when I'm done."

"Thank God! I'm going to need two more, this fucking deal sounds kind of heavy. You know anyone else?"

"I know of Jamila, the girl from a couple days ago. I'll see if she's busy. Just wait outside of the club till we're all ready."

"Alright, then. This could take a couple of minutes if not an hour at best."

With that, Austin left with Miles for the time being while I called up Lamar to ask him for any contacts.

"Yo, Lamar! How are you, my man?"

"I'm good, fool. What you need, my man?"

"Well, here's the thing. Gerald just informed me about a drug deal going on with the Vagos and the Lost, but I'm one member short of going it as a team. You know anyone that can pull off something like this?"

"Hmm… There is this one guy that I do know of, came to Los Santos couple days after you arrived. A guy who goes by the name of Samuel Ross. Dude drives a Dinka Akuma, just to let you know. He can be a dick sometimes, but knows how to get the job done. Imma contact the guy and send him to your location. Where you at by the way?"

"I'm at the Vanilla Unicorn."

"Trying to see some titties, huh my dawg? Anyway, he should meet you soon. Peace out, fool!"

After Lamar drops the call, I wait in my Gauntlet for the time being.

* * *

**20 Minutes Later…**

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I got out of my car to see if my contact had arrived at the strip club. I looked around the other parts of the parking spaces until I noticed a Dinka Akuma entering the area. I went up to approach the guy on the bike to greet him.

"Hey there. Aren't you the guy Lamar sent? Samuel Ross, I believe?"

"Hell yeah, you guessed right. And I'm guessing you're Thomas Marston?"

"Yeah, I am. Lamar gave you the details?"

"Yep. Now where's the others?"

Apparently, I forgot to see if Austin and Jamila were available for the mission. Due to my mistake, I texted Austin to ask if he was coming with Jamila which he responded to with a 'yes'.

Shortly thereafter, I see Austin drive in with his Buffalo and Jamila who's wearing a sky blue shirt with black jean. She's also sporting black bangs and yellow-grey running shoes.

"Hey there, Austin. You must be Jamila, I presume?" I said to both of them.

"Jamila, Jamila Thomas. And you must be Austin's friend, Thomas? You're no hustler or traitor are you?" She asked me in

"Yeah. It's funny how we share the name Thomas, it being my first name and yours being the last! And no, I'm definitely no hustler if that's what you're thinking."

"Well, my dear friend. Life works in mysterious ways if you didn't know that." Jamila told me in a loud tone.

"Hey! I'm sorry if I was being fucking ignorant. Besides, we're have to go to the Del Perro Pier ASAP! Anyway… meet our new friend here, Samuel Ross. Sam, meet Austin Johnson and Jamila. Now as expected, the deal should be a bit heavy but we're in luck since I keep some ammo in my car's trunk. As far as I know is that Gerald wants us to steal off some Meth from both Vagos and the Lost. We'll need to be smart about this, so everyone gather what you can for this."

Proceeding with this, I open the trunk and there's about a rack of rifles, pistols, grenades, tear gas canisters, body armor and shotguns for the mission. I selected a carbine rifle, and a pump shotgun. As for Sam, he had a customized Beretta M92F, an assault rifle, four tear gas canisters and a sawed-off shotgun. Austin and Jamila both took an assault rifle and bullpup rifle respectively, but both took heavy pistols and pump shotguns. All of us did take body armor for protection as well.

Once that was settled, we all drove off from the Vanilla Unicorn for the Del Perro Pier. Once we got there, we had parked at a parking lot underneath the pier since doing a meet at a discreet place like that that would throw off authorities. Once we saw the passage, we started to devise a plan to handle the enemies.

I was the first to speak.

"Guys, I have a good idea. You might want to listen up here for this one."

"Alright, Austin. If this idea of yours fails us, remind me to choke your lungs out if anyone of us dies. " Samuel said in confidence to everyone.

"At least have some faith here, you douche! Okay, as far as we know. Both gangs must have a moderate amount of guys on their side just to trade a package of meth. What those fucks won't be expecting is us which gives us the advantage. The best way to go about this is to split into two teams of two on both ends of the passage. One of us will have to throw tear gas or grenade as a signal to ambush the dealmakers. Once all of them are done for, we grab the shit and drive away from here." Austin stated in great detail.

"See Austin, have a little faith in people. Anyway, very well thought-out plan of yours, Austin! Alright, Jamila and Sam. You guys will have to drive over to the other end of the passage while Austin and I remain here. You all got that?"

"Caught that like a bull taken by the horns, Thomas." Jamila said, with her head nodding in agreement.

Soon, everyone goes into position. I notice that the meet is still taking place between the Vagos and the Lost which still gives us time for a distraction. Giving Austin a thumbs up, I call up Sam to perform the distraction.

"Sam, this is Thom speaking. Listen I need you to throw the tear gas canister instead to throw off both sides of the meet. Do you read me loud and clear?" I asked him.

"Yeah, don't even worry about it."

As I watch Sam throw the tear gas canister, the enemies start to cough. Nevertheless, Austin and I start to shoot at both Vagos and Lost members.

"It's an ambush! Who are these guys?" one of the Lost said in complete shock.

"Your worst nightmare, bitch!" I said in gusto.

The passage has pillars for support, but they are of average size, enough to cover one half of your body. As for both sides of the passage, it gives about a decent size of cover against bullets. The amount of guys there is fourteen in total. That meant seven from each gang, which sounds unfair of a shootout. They were moderately armed with SMGs and assault rifles. Also, there were three SUVs and Vans almost blocking the view of the other side which caused us unable to see both Sam and Jamila.

Austin starts to shoot his Assault Rifle at a Lost member wearing a leather jacket with a Lost shirt and black pants, firing at least a couple rounds into his abdomen, leaving him to stagger to the ground with blood. However, caught four wounds to the sides of his ribcage, but was wearing body armor. I managed to fire two members of the Vagos with my pump shotgun, shooting one in the abdomen and the other in the same area, but also shooting in the head leaving a large residue of blood on the wall. Afterwords, I went to reload the weapon quickly and asked Austin on his condition.

"Good shot, Thom!" Austin said.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself. You okay, though?"

"Less talk, more shooting at those fuckboys!" Austin replied

**_So much for asking…_**

By that time, I received four or more wounds around my abdomen from one of the Lost, but still able to fight. A Vagos guy wearing khaki shorts and a yellow v-neck starts to fire blindly at us, forcing Austin and I to seek cover by the walls by the passage. I switched to my Carbine Rifle and fired ten rounds at the Vagos dude, who falls over and leaks out a pool of blood. We both quickly move up to a pillar of our own for cover as the remaining fire at us.

I manage to fire rounds from my rifle at the Lost and Vagos members which only killed one of them due to multiple shots around his body while one of them got wounded at the lower part of his abdomen. Austin shot the last one by firing a couple shotgun rounds into the last one, killing him at close quarters range. We manage to grab the meth package in time.

"Sam, Jamila. Our end is done here. Yours?" I asked both of them.

"Yep. Killed the little bastards with a dose of firepower." Samuel replied in an arrogant tone.

"Hey guys, I don't think we should stay for long. Let's get out of here before the cops show." Jamila said with caution in her voice.

After that shootout, we left the pier for Gerald's apartment. I told Austin to text Gerald the details about what had occurred at the meet. By the time we had arrived, Gerald came out of his apartment.

"Gerald. We got the stuff for you." I told Gerald as I threw the package for him.

"Nice. Now keep your mouth shut about me you hear?

_**Talk about being paranoid, this guy needs to calm down a bit**. _I thought to myself about Gerald's behavior.

Afterwards we left the apartment complex since business had already been taken care of.

"Well, that didn't turn out bad now did it?" Sam asked us with assurance in his voice.

"Hmm… if you mean disrupting a meet between two gangs for a pack of speed, then yes it went well. Anyhoo, I hope this Gerald guy pays well. The dude feels shady to me with the way he acts." Jamila stated to all of us.

"Wait, Jamila. One Question I've got to ask you. Why are you doing this?" I asked Jamila

"I'm trying to get money for my grandpa and myself just to get by. Matter of fact, Austin. I wish to thank you for this, really I do."

"Uh… you're welcome, I guess. What about your LifeInvader job and the income?"

"My old folk would be ashamed if he saw me doing this just for his sake. I'll have to use it as a means of cover for the time being." She stated in acceptance.

"Alright, enough with the sappy struggle story! Let's get out of here anyway. Don't trust this type of place." Sam said to all of us.

"Dude, at least have some respect for what she just said. Anyway, bye y'all." Austin said to all of us.

"Same here, dude. I'm exhausted right now. Imma just probably chill and smoke some weed" I said in a tired state.

"Okay, you have fun with that. Peace out, y'all." Jamila said

From there, everyone just went home to their apartments, retiring for the day. Afterwards, I went to my apartment and smoked weed for the rest of the night till I dosed off to bed.

* * *

**Hey there, guys. It's Tom Tha Author here. Sorry for the long-a** wait you guys had to go through. Being a Senior in High School can have its challenges. Anyway, I've been working on this chapter for quite sometime since this week. I feel this is one of the best chapters that I've worked on so far and I couldn't be anymore happier. I'm thinking of doing a multi-1st person view for all the OCs involved in the story since I want you guys to feel just as connected to them besides Thomas. **

**Besides, I'm feeling quite tired now since it's nearly 2AM in the East Coast. Chapter 9 could take quite a while to come out for since I'll be busy for quite sometime. The mission, "Rich Men in Richmen" will be featured in this chapter. I would really appreciate it if any of you readers could leave a review for constructive criticism or positive ones for this story. Thank you all for the continued support.- Thanks from Tom Tha Author**


	9. Chapter 8- Rich Men in Richman

** Rich Men in Richman**

**A Week Later, Sunday… 10:30 AM, Vespucci Beach, Los Santos**

Wearing a white tank-top with black sweatpants and orange sports shoes, I decided to get some exercise by driving my Gauntlet to Vespucci Beach. I normally exercise say about three to four times a week just to keep myself in shape. I still remember the training regimen Merryweather had in place and it was less brutal than in the military. Not too bad for a Security company that has been involved in shadow wars for a couple years.

When I got to the outdoor gym (which is named Muscle Sands Gym), I noticed how big these bodybuilders were. Some of them were at a height of 6'6 feet or no less 6'2 feet. Some of them did fit the stereotypes of bodybuilders though as some if not most had tanned skin, minus the possibility of using steroids.

Pushing away the observations in my sight, I proceeded to look for some gym equipment. Fortunately, for me, someone had already finished using a bench press. Looking at the weight of the pound wheels, I added two 35 pounds to the bench press bar. With that done, I only lifted the weight bar for about 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, I performed some lifts for 20 minutes and left the gym.

After leaving Muscle Sands Gym, I was on my way back to my apartment until I noticed a commotion going on at Prosperity Street Promenade, nearby the Sub Urban store. A woman was shouting "Help!" as a white male was running franticly away from the scene. The lady is half black/white, possesses black braided Mohawk hair, brown eyes, 5'8 feet tall, and is sporting cropped tan jeans with an off-shoulder top (white) that has the Eris logo on the front. I approached the lady as she was fuming in worry.

"Hey, calm down. What happened here?" I said to the lady in a calm voice.

"That shitty A-hole with the red Harsh Souls T-shirt and blue jeans just stole my wallet. You can see him pushing a lot of people down." The lady explained to me in a quick manner.

"No dick should ever steal from a girl like you. Wait here, I'll get it back for you." I told the girl in confidence.

I started chasing down the guy was wasn't too far from where I was. As I caught a glimpse of the guy, he had already crossed the zebra line to the other part of the strip mall. Using as much speed as I could, I dodged a couple people and managed to catch up to him. To quickly subdue him, I ran front and performed a roundhouse kick to his face. The guy drops to the ground hard with part of his teeth missing due to the intensity of the attack I performed

"You fucking asshole! How dare you! No one is stopping me from stealing what's mine!" The thief said to me.

"How pathetic of a lowlife bastard! Don't you have better things to do than rob a girl?! Jesus Christ, asswipes like you need to be put down."

From there, the fight begins. I throw a punch at the thief, but dodges my attack and punches me at both my cheeks. Thrown off by the punch, I cough out a mix of saliva and blood. Coming back to reality, I kicked the thief at his left thigh and punched at him twice. He tries to punch at me again, but I dodged both his attacks and headbutted him. Distracted by the throbbing pain for a moment, he kicks at my abdomen and punches me in the face about two times. By this time, part of my face feels sore and bruised.

"Come on, give up already! You'll be dead by the time this is over." The thief proclaimed at me.

Giving him the middle finger, I said, "Go fuck yourself if you think that's going to happen."

I charged at him and kicked him in the groin. That opening gave me time to punch him again with a couple hits and headbutted him again for the second time, collapsing to the pavement with bloddy bruises and passing out. I took back the wallet that was stolen and went back to the lady who was waiting. As a side note, I'm sure someone was recording this fight and posted to the web by now.

After that, I left the scene and ran back down to where the lady was lying in wait. I approached her as I came nearby.

"Hey there. I got your wallet back for you." I said to the girl who was thankful for my action.

"Thanks, dude. That was so kind of you. I sincerely wish there were more like you guys." She said in complete honesty.

"Well, I'm not exactly a holy saint, but thank you." I said in appreciation

"Well, anyway can you call a taxi for me? My place is kind of far from here also my phone is dying. It's 0604 Las Lagunas Boulevard, Downtown Vinewood. By the way, the name is Mikaela, Mikaela Walsh."

"I can drive you there, I got time. Anyway, let's not waste time right now." I said to Mikaela.

We both enter my Gauntlet and drive off to Mikaela's apartment. On the way there, I struck up a conversation with Mikaela about some personal stuff.

"By the way, the name's Thomas Marston."

"Marston… Isn't that the last name of the Western folk hero, John Marston of the book, Red Dead?"

"Yeah, I'm the real-life descendant of his anyway. Some people think that he's actually a fictional character, but that never gets to me."

"I've read that book since I was 16 years old. Still a classic read though."

"Yeah, so where are you from?" I asked my new friend.

"Well, I hail from the so-called 'Las Venturas of the South' that is known as Vice City. Long story short; I'm 27 years old, I'm from a mixed family as you can tell by my black/white complexion, served in the Army for five years until I started agreeing with people who were protesting against Iraq since we weren't supposed to be there. I went without a job until a group of friends that I know of introduced me into the crime world. I've got to admit, the pay (except the risks) isn't bad at all. Pretty good for retirement." Mikaela stated to me

"I'll tell you my story. I've lived in the Southwest since I was a child. For your information, I'm not exactly all white as my mother is black and white, I have a older brother named Marcus who's in the Marines, at 18 years I joined the Marines myself for two years, but wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. That changed when I decided to join Merryweather for the heck of it and to get better pay. Unfortunately, my 4th year with the company turned out bad because all of my platoon got killed in a battle in the Middle East. Since then, I've suffered from trauma, survivor's guilt and went into freelance work until I moved down to Los Santos thanks to Lamar."

"Wow, I'm sorry about that." Mikaela said to me with compassion

"It's alright, I've been trying to cope with what's happened. I not only came to Los Santos for the money by means of doing freelance work, but I'm also trying to heal with the incident and for a new start."

"Yeah, I feel that. Hey look, we're nearby my place. Just keeping driving a couple blocks" Mikaela pointed out.

We later arrive outside of Mikaela's apartment within less than seven minutes thanks to the traffic moving fast.

"Well, thanks for saving me earlier. Anyway, you gonna come in?" Mikaela asks me.

"No thanks, I have to get back home right now. Wait, can I have your number?" I asked Mikaela.

"Sure! Here, just pass me your phone… and it's done. Well, goodbye Thomas. I hope to hear from you later." Mikaela said to me.

"Same to you. Gotta get to my apartment anyway."

* * *

**(25 Minutes later…)**

Once I arrived into my apartment's garage, I went upstairs to my apartment's kitchen where I kept a first aid kit. I started to apply rubbing alcohol to my injuries which hurt like 500 bees stinging at you over and over again. Afterwards, I went to go take a shower to wash off my wounds and rested for about two hours. Once I woke up, I dressed up into a white T-shirt with the American flag on it along with a black hoodie, a pair of brown jeans, grey running shoes, and red sunglasses.

Once I had finished with changing into my clothing, I heard my phone make a notification. I went to grab my phone which was beside my remote control. When I pressed on my phone, I received a message from Simeon and it reads:

**"**_**If the financial crisis taught us anything, it's that the wealthy have as much trouble with the credit as the poor do. A man in Richman took two expensive cars from me, and now you must repossess them, and bring them to the showroom. You may need some help with this, I think he has security.**_**"**

"_Not enough info from a con-man and car thief." _I thought to myself. Not knowing what specific cars to bring to his shop, I called Simeon about the issue.

"Simeon. You weren't being specific about what cars I'm meant to bring to the dealership. How am I supposed to repo these cars if I don't know what they fucking look like?! Not only that, you also didn't tell me where the hell I'm supposed to go!" I said in an annoyed manner.

Simeon replied, "Calm down, my boy! Didn't your mother teach you a lesson on patience? Okay, the cars are a grey Stinger GT and a black Super Diamond. The place where you and your associates are going is the Richman Mansion."

"The place with the topless girls and drunk men?" I said to Simeon.

"Yes. It's by Americano Way in case if you didn't know. A few more things that I have to tell you my friend, the place has a security system so in order to get in there, you'll need to hack into the system in order to steal those cars. Also, the police will come onto you once you've hijacked them. Good luck, my friend." Simeon said to me with a tone of faith in his voice.

"_Great, now I have to deal with police and swiping off cars." I thought to myself in an irritated tone_

Knowing that I would need some assistance with the repo, I called up Maddie, since she's good with hacking systems given her past experience. I called up Miles due to the fact that I haven't contacted him after the last mission. Needing one more person for this job, I thought of contacting Mikaela since she's had military experience.

"Hey, Mikaela. I got a job opportunity for you, but this involves repossession of cars. One of my Bosses, Simeon wants me and a few others to get back a pair of cars for him at Premium MotorSport, which is the place that he owns. He pays decently, so I thought of calling you up for the job."

"Sure, I can go. I do need the greenbacks anyway for support anyway. Just lemme know the time and place." Mikaela told me over the phone.

"Alright. Well, I've got to go. Need to set up some things for the mission."

I ended the call afterwards and proceeded to plan out the entire mission. Considering the security system in the Mansion, they might have cameras which would expose us to the police. To this end, the best solution was to buy masks for the mission to avoid being identified. The four of us would also need a decent amount of ammo since we were going to be dealing with security guards.

Knowing the others would need a specific location to meet up; I sent the message "Meet me at the Vespucci Movie Masks store." Then I set out to the Ammu Nation store nearby to collect weapons. The only things that I needed were simply smaller weapons, so I brought some pistols and SMG's for this.

From there, I drove off from the store to the shoreline to meet up with the rest of the crew. Parking nearby the mask store where all their cars were, I saw Maddie, Miles, and Mikaela in front of the store as I started to approach them.

"Hey everyone, look who's late to the party!" Miles said to me in a funny tone

"Shut up, Miles. Anyway, I'd like to introduce you and Maddie to my new friend, Mikaela. She's from Vice City, Florida. Beautiful, but can get the job done." I said to both Miles and Madison.

"Hello, beautiful! Whoever your parents are, they must have done a great job making you." Miles said to Mikaela in a flirty tone, looking at her with a smitten look. I swear to God, Miles must have the ego of a Ladies-Man if he thinks he's gonna score Mikaela.

"Uh… thanks dude. Long story short, I've served in the Army Corps for five years, and I'm pretty capable of handling myself in a fight." Mikaela said to all of us.

Maddie spoke up saying, "So what are we doing out here for? You picked this location for a reason, am I correct?"

"The mansion has security cameras as far as I believe and a security system. We can't take the risk of someone being at the Richman Hotel and taking looks at a small group of people robbing a few cars, too risky. That's why I wanted you guys to come down here to pick up some masks in order to avoid being identified by those at the Mansion." I explained to the rest of them.

"That's not a bad idea, Thomas. Good thing we have you as a team member. Alright, let's get the masks." Maddie said to me while giving me an assured smile.

Being in the "Don't Give a Fuck" state of mind, I decided to pick out at random, a Pogo monkey mask. Gotta admit, the mask looked pretty good on me when I looked at the mirror since I was wearing some urban clothing. Maddie picked out a red hockey mask, Mikaela picked out a hockey mask with an image of a rotting zombie, while Miles picked out a green monster mask.

We all looked at each other, only Miles laughed. The rest of us either shook our heads or sighed. Isn't that awkward?

After that moment, we grabbed our equipment and departed to the Richman Mansion to repo the cars. I've got to say, the traffic in LS is less slow when at night, probably due to the nightlife around Downtown Vinewood and other places in Los Santos. It only took us about less than 40 minutes to get over to the Richman area since traffic was sparse. We moved out towards the entrance of the mansion where the gate's security system is located. Knowing that the only one who's well skilled in decryption is Maddie, I called on her to hack into the gate.

"How long you think this will take?" I asked her.

"Say no less than in 5 minutes, though I may be a bit off. Just give me some time here." She asked of all of us.

Maddie proceeded to hack into the security system by means of using her iFruit phone. She told everyone that there were only two ways to fully hacking a system, using either BruteForce (system that allows you to select letters to spell out a word) or HackConnect (A system where you'd have to find a set of numbers). Fortunately, it was the former which was way easier to access into than searching for a set of numbers. It only took five minutes for Maddie to hack into the system for us to enter into the Richman Mansion. When the gate opened, we rushed in there quickly as we could.

As we were approaching the car, to our left were four security guards dressed in brown pants and buttoned-up white shirts standing nearby a passageway to the pavilion, spotted us and started to shoot at us. Maddie and Mikaela started to shoot at them as well, killing two guards with SMG fire. They incapacitated the rest by killing them both in the abdomen, lying dead on the grass.

It wasn't over yet, as two security guards appeared at another passageway nearing where the cars were. I took out my heavy pistol and fired three rounds at a security guard, but missed the third since I caught two wounds to my right thigh no thanks to the other one beside him. Miles appeared and shot the other guard in the head twice, who dropped to the ground dead with a pool of blood leaking out.

This threw off the already wounded guard who was in a bit of shock, so it gave me a window to shoot at him in point-blank range. Once that was taken care of, we had to take the cars for Simeon.

"Maddie and I will take the Super Diamond, while you guys take the Stinger GT. Keep in touch via speaker by phone, got it?"

Both Mikaela and Miles replied "yes" and we all took off from the mansion. We were driving down on Desert Drive when I came up with an idea.

"Listen, Miles, Mikaela. We've got to split up from each other. Might cover more ground and lessen out cop responses." I said to them.

"That's a great idea, Thom. We'll let you know when we've lost the 5-0." Mikaela said to both of us.

We split up from both of them as we drove to Boulevard Del Perro. However, by the time I made a turn, a police car with two officers was lying in wait and pursued both Maddie and I. Maddie started to load her pistol and fired at the cop car in chase. She managed to hit the driver a couple times, making the car lose control and crashing into a palm tree nearby a store. Needing to make a quick turn, I warn Maddie in advance.

"Hey Maddie, you might want to hang on to your seat for a moment."

"Wait, why?" She asked.

"This is why" I said as I made a quick turn from Del Perro to the bridge connecting to Little Seoul. Dodging a few cars while speeding through traffic didn't help since I caught a few bumps at the front. Thought it was about two to three bumps, so I thought there wasn't anything to worry about. I turned to Maddie and she looked a bit nauseous in the face.

"Okay, I think I'm going to hurl right now. If there's one thing you should know about me, is the fact that I hate quick turns from things like roller coasters. Makes me feel nauseous." Maddie stated to me.

"I'm thinking of bad childhood trauma of intense barfing. I've got ten dollars on me right now." I said to her with a smug smile.

"Yeah, I was eight years old when I rode on my first roller coaster in L.C. Ate too much food and… Thomas, you're about to hit a car!" Maddie suddenly warned me as I was driving. Turns out I was losing control of the car for a moment due to the conversation. _Hooray for being distracted, _as I mentally slapped myself for.

I swerved out of the oncoming vehicle's lane and drifted onto the correct lane. Unfortunately, as I drifted, I heard a scratching sound by the rear of the car against the other car.

"Did the car just get a scratch?" Maddie asked me.

"Yeah, it did. Now Simeon is going to bitch and moan. Hold on, there's a parking garage a block down from us. I'm going to turn left."

"Wait a minute, a cop car is driving towards us. The car's a couple feet away from us!" Maddie warned me in a hint of stress.

"Well, I'll have to drift yet again. Don't try throwing up all over the interior, we need this in good condition."

I drifted to my left and quickly speeded my way into the parking garage which has colors of red and white. Needing to be safe, I drove up to the 3rd level of the garage and parked there. The period that we waited for the cops to go away took about 30 minutes or less since I lost track of time being worried that a cop car would come and arrest us. It felt like an hour instead being in that situation which didn't help at all.

"I think the cops are gone from this area. We should contact Miles and Mikaela to see if they've lost them." Maddie said to me.

"Yeah, I definitely agree. Miles, Mikaela, you guys lost the pigs?" I asked in desperation.

"Dude, don't get your fucking panties tight in your crotch. Of course we're okay. Mikaela and I lost them in El Burro Heights. We're en route to Simeon's car shop." Miles said to me in complete assurance.

"Alright, that's good. We're on our way. They're alright and heading their way to Simeon's" I said to Maddie.

We drove off from the parking garage in Little Seoul and went our way to Simeon's car shop. There, we met up with Miles and Mikaela. Their car wasn't that beat up, they only had about 3 to 4 scratches on the Stinger and two bumps on the rear. I looked at the Super Diamond and did a face palm in shame. Apparently, there were two deep dents at both sides of the front, which looked like the worst part of the car. As for the scratches, they weren't that bad. There were only two scratches on both doors of the left side of the car, but the scratches were only medium in size.

"Well, looks like we did survive, but our cars almost did." Mikaela said to all of us.

"Well, pray Simeon pays us well for this shit. This wasn't as bad as the last mission Maddie and I went on for him. Had to kill a bunch of Ballas for a Schafter." I said referring to the Jamestown Ave incident.

"Speak of the devil, here he comes right now!" Madison said to all of us.

"Hello there, my fellow associates! I see you got the cars that I asked to return to me." Simeon said as he approached us.

"Alright, Simeon. We got the cars for you, just pay us sometime after this." I said to him.

Simeon looked at the cars and said, "Perfection is a cruel mistress, is she not? I can see why the cars are looking a bit damaged. I'm guessing the corrupt police and this damned city traffic?"

"Yeah, you won the lottery with that answer." Miles said to Simeon in a tired tone.

"Okay, I will pay all of you a total of $18,930 dollars in your Maze Bank accounts. Oh, by the way. I took the liberty of letting some of my mechanics pick up your cars from Richman. They're in front of the Motorsport store. Also, I contacted Los Santos Customs to give you guys your own personal mechanics to deliver your vehicles instead of riding in those stupid taxis with their cheap pay. No need to be feeling broke. " Simeon said.

"Thanks, Simeon. Never thought that you would do that for us on our behalf." Miles said to Simeon in complete shock, but with a thankful feeling.

"Consider this a thank you from the community." Simeon said with a smile on his face.

With that being said, we all left the parking lot and went our separate ways into the rest of the day.

* * *

**Hello, guys. Sorry for the wait, but I'm back. I've had to deal with schoolwork and College issues. This chapter is one of the longest that I've had to work on since I re-did it say about five times. I really wanted to make sure it came out well before releasing this to you guys. I'm very much pleased that Rockstar Games has announced the GTA Online Heists release date to be on March 10th. I know that I lot of gamers (me included) have been waiting for over a year and a half for this to come out, but now is the time to drop it.**

**Due to the four-player setup of Online Heists, I'll need to figure out a way to set up the whole entire thing when it comes out. As for the GTA Online missions, I'm not going to do all of them. Given the pace of Rockstar Games and my High School career nearing to an end, I'll have to release more chapters within the coming weeks. Also, some of the Vs. Missions included in the Online portion may/may not be used as standoffs or mission objectives given by Thomas and Co. **

**As for me, I'm considering making a Star Wars fan-fic right now. However, I'll use it as a side project since this one is my main priority. I'm a fan of Star Wars and I've been hoping to do it for a while. Since this story gotten popular thanks to over 1,000 views, I'm still going to keep moving forward with this. Thanks for reading so far. If you've got any ideas for the story, message me if you want. Open to suggestions. One more thing, as of this chapter I'm no longer accepting OC's anymore. The whole thing has run its course, so I apologize to any reader who comes across my story and comes up with one. To the guest that's been asking to use the "Carly De Santa" OC, I'm still refusing to use her. It will distract the plot and leave a mess that I really have no time to clean up. -Tom tha Author**

**(02/27/15): Thanks to the readers who left some reviews, always appreciated. To the guest from earlier, I apologize about the whole incident. BY THE WAY, the girl killed in one of the earlier chapters was a random person, not the Carly OC. Wanted to clear out the fog before it got less clearer to see.**


	10. Chapter 9- Death Metal

**Death**** Metal**

**Monday: 5:30 PM, Boulevard Del Perro, Los Santos.**

After dressing into a buttoned white shirt with dark blue jeans, I went out for a drive to Astro Theaters since they were showing this film known as Die Already 4. I've watched the Die Already series since I was in my pre-teen years and I'm hoping this one will be good since most sequels to the first film always fall short due to a bad script or become incredibly stupid with weak plotlines. Don't blame me, it's the truth! There are companies that just want to make a quick buck off a film that's full of crap and one-liners.

(A/N: For those that don't know, Die Already is a film series parodying the Die Hard series.. Rockstar made it up)

On my way towards the theaters, I was driving on Red Forest Drive when I noticed a woman being shouted at a traffic cop in his mid-40's with balding brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing the LS police uniform nearby the traffic light just about a couple feet away from me. From what I noticed, she is wearing a red and blue plaid shirt with blue ranch jeans, black and white sport shoes, and short, faux black hair. Physically, I can tell she's Asian, 6'0 feet tall and has dark brown eyes.

Noticing that the confrontation was about to escalate between both of them, I parked nearby the sidewalk and got out my car. As I was approaching both of them, a spar of words were being shared between the both of them.

"Listen, young lady! You went 20 miles above the speed limit of 40 MPH and crashed into 2 cars not too long ago. No thanks to your arrogance, you sent two drivers to the hospital." The police officer said in anger towards the driver.

"Well, I'm s-sorry if the shitty traffic in this city is so h-h-horrible, I wonder how some of them even g-got their driver's licenses! Besides this b-b-bullshit, I'm running late since I've got to get to the f-flight school." The lady said to the officer with a stammer in her voice. I've got to agree with her though, some of them are completely reckless and car accidents have skyrocketed through the roof for the past few months.

I came up to both of them as they were shouting at each other. "Well, from what I'm hearing, I've got to side with the lady here. The traffic here in Los Santos can get real crappy sometimes, making people more desperate to drive as fast as they can to get to 'God-knows-where'. No wonder there's smog at night in this city." I said to the officer who looked like he was more annoyed by my presence.

"Get bent, you jerkoff! Who said you could speak to me anyway?! Now as for you, Mrs. 'I Love to Speed and Drift', you're getting a ticket of $200 dollars for this." The officer said to the both of us.

The lady responded, "W-what am I s-supposed to do about my car? I can pay the t-ticket, but is my car going to the I-impound lot?"

The officer with a smug smirk on his face said, "Well, yes. However, there are two ways you can handle the situation. One, act like a good citizen, pay up your ticket, medical fees for those poor drivers, and go to Los Santos Customs. Two, we can all forget about this ever happening if you perform a _**special **_kind of favor on me and I'll let you off the-" I looked on with a surprised look on my face as she knocked out the traffic cop to the ground.

"What the hell!? You didn't have to knock him out! This wasn't part of my day at all." I said as I did a face palm on myself.

"Oh shut up, you baby. This pig deserved it anyway, w-with what he had s-s-suggested towards me! I'm not one of those s-street whores giving p-p-ppussy away for money so they can support their College tuition and funds." She said to me with a tone of annoyance.

Upset by the surprise turn of events, I spoke up to my new companion, "Listen, we should leave right now before any cops get here. I'm going to drive since you wrecked up your car and probably in a position not being able to drive. The only place I know where to lay low around this area is my apartment up at Boulevard Del Perro." We later drove off away from the theater, drove past a couple blocks and arrived at my apartment.

Once we both got indoors, I looked outside to see if there were any cop cars nearby and fortunately, there were none. I later turned my attention to the lady who was with me in the apartment.

"So tell me, what happened that caused all of the mess that started back there? Also, what's your name?" I asked my new companion.

"Well, as you may have noticed, Los S-Santos has some bad traffic congestion. Sometime after l-leaving my a-apartment in Vespucci, I was stuck in t-traffic for 15-20 minutes. Noticing how I was r-running late to get to the flight school, I s-swerved my way out of traffic and m-moved as fast as I could. Before y-you came a-along, I was s-speeding alongside t-traffic till I ran a red light, rear bumped a Schafter, and hit the trunk of a Tailgator which fucked up the front of my car. I'm usually very g-good with driving, but I guess t-today wasn't so lucky. B-By the w-way, the n-name's Shizuka Kichida. You?" She told me in great detail. I've got to say, Shizuka can stammer and talk a lot.

"My name's Thomas Marston. Hired gun from Liberty City, born and raised in the Southwest." I said to Shizuka.

(A/N: I'm leaving Thomas's home state up for grabs since I don't know what state his family would be from. I don't think Rockstar gave the name of the state the Marstons lived at.)

"Nice to make your acquaintance. Oh, thanks for rescuing me from that disgusting cop. I-I can't imagine w-what he would h-have done if you didn't come along." Shizuka said to me in complete thankfulness.

I told her, "You're welcome" as I shook her hand in a gesture of friendliness.

Suddenly remembering the argument between Shizuka and the officer, I asked her, "Hold on, just not too long ago, you said that you had to get to the Flight School which is near the airport. Why were you in such a rush to get there?"

"I work for t-the Flight S-School as an I-Instructor. I help those who w- want to learn how to f-fly planes." Shizuka said to me.

"Wait a minute, we should get going right now! You said it yourself that you were running late. Let's head down to my garage." I said to Shizuka in complete worry. We both rush out of the apartment door towards my garage and we got in my car in a hurry. The drive was an hour long given the rush hour, but it was worth it. We finally arrived outside of the flight school and Shizuka was about to leave my car until she spoke: "Hey. I-I just want t-to thank you f-for driving me h-here and helping me get away from the police. I-I thought that guys like you didn't exist for a long time. However, I wish to thank you for what you've done for me"

"Thanks for the compliment though. By the way, what about your car? I'm pretty sure the cops have it in the impound lot in South Los Santos." I said to Shizuka in concern.

"Don't worry a-about t-that, I'll take c-care of t-that. I don't w-want you to w-worry much at all." Shizuka said to me, expressing calm and kindness in her voice.

I responded, "Alright, that's great. Listen, can I get your number as a contact? I could use someone like you to assist me with jobs." I said to Shizuka.

Shizuka said to me, "Hmm… W-Well, I'm not too sure a-a-about this, but alright. S-Since you did help me escape f-f-from the cops, I can give y-y-you my number."

We both traded numbers before I left the airport and waved goodbye to Shizuka. Afterwards, I arrived at the convenience store in Strawberry to get some Pibwasser and a pack of Redwood until I received a call from Gerald.

"Hey, fool. Listen drop whatever it is you're doing and meet me at my apartment. There's something that one of my homies informed me about."

"Alright, Gerald. I'll come by your place and get the details from you." I said to Gerald in a monotone and annoyed voice. If there's one thing that I hate is people interrupting me while I'm doing something. God, I swear sometimes luck isn't on my side.

I drove towards Gerald's apartment in Strawberry which didn't take too long since his apartment was a couple blocks down from the store that I came out of. I parked outside of Gerald's apartment block and walked my way there. I knocked a couple times until I heard the door unlock and facing me was Gerald, who was wearing his usual attire with his white pork pie hat, grey watch, a grey LS chain, brown tinted aviators and dark blue jeans. Gerald came out of his apartment's door and shook my hand which I did likewise.

Recalling Gerald's call, I asked Gerald, "Ok, Gerald. So what's the situation thus far?"

"So a contact of mine heard through the grapevine that some of the Ballas are planning to make a coke deal with some crew that calls themselves "The Professionals" or something. Anyway, the deal will go down in 30 minutes at Roger's Scrapyard, so gather anyone that you can and cap anyone you see. I'll break you a good amount of money for your service."

"Thanks, Gerald, I'd better get on my way right now."

I departed from Gerald's apartment and went on my way to the AmmuNation store on Power Drive to get some weaponry for the mission so I brought four Carbine Rifles, Combat Pistols, Body Armor and a good amount of ammunition. It costed about no less than $15,450 dollars, but due to the pay I've gotten from the last few missions, it's not all that bad. Only got $94,780 dollars in the bank.

Knowing that I would need some backup, I called up Mikaela and Samuel for the mission and told them I'd give them the details at a later point. I thought of Shizuka since I wanted to give her a chance and see what she's capable of. I called her as well and informed about the meet-up that was going to take place and asked if she'd like to come. Shizuka agreed and she mentioned that she'll meet up with us. One thing I also did was tell the rest to meet me at Tequi-La-La at West Vinewood.

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**6:00 PM, Tequi-La-La, Eclipse Boulevard, West Vinewood **

So to give y'all the details, I've been chilling at Tequi-La-La for about 10 minutes since I was waiting for the others to arrive. The interior of the place isn't bad, fits the look of an underground music venue. Most of the place has a dark interior, but has some lighting to make up for it. The venue has three floors: First floor has the main stage, a bar and a dance floor, Second floor has a VIP lounge and a DJ area and the basement is simply a game room for people to relax in.

As for yours truly, I was at the main floor drinking a bottle of Logger Beer with no less than six people around the bar until Shizuka, Samuel and Mikaela entered the was wearing a Harsh Souls t-shirt with a black hoodie and brown cargo pants; Mikaela was wearing a shoulder-exposed, purple T-shirt with black leggings and a silver watch, while Shizuka was still wearing the outfit I first saw her in. I approached and greeted all of them with hugs and some handshakes. I started to speak to them about the events that were to unfold.

"Before I reveal the reason why I called you guys down here, I'd like to introduce you guys to our new friend Shizuka Kichida, she teaches at the San Andreas Flight School and is well versed in flying and shooting."

"Hey there! My name is Samuel Ross, former Teen's Top 10 snowboarder of Alaska turned Hired Gun. Nice to finally meet someone who's not affiliated with the Triads for once. To be honest, I thought you were Korean since most Asian people have the same features."

"Uh f-f-first off. Not every Asian has the s-same f-features, mind you. D-don't you know that I-Indians and F-f-filipinos are also considered A-Asians as well?!" Shizuka stated to Sam.

"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't know any better! I know India's in Asia, but I never thought of them as Asian, given their dark brown complexion or whatever. And what's with your stuttering? Did you have issues in practicing English when you got here or something?" Sam said to Shizuka.

Shizuka, who was fuming mad and pissed off at that moment, proceeded to bitch slap and kick Sam in the balls for his "English" comment which caught the attention of some of the patrons at the nightclub (who were laughing at that moment) and was about to say something to Sam until Mikaela broke it up. She then told Sam to apologize which he did, but was reluctant at first and went to greet Shizuka. Did I forget to mention that Sam can be an asshole sometimes, if not most of the time?

"Hey Shizuka! I'm Mikaela. Mikaela Walsh, but you can call me Kayla. I'm from Vice City, Florida. So you from here or from Asia?" asked Mikaela to Shizuka with a smile and a tone of kindness in her voice.

"Well, I'm from J-J-Japan, but I've resided in Los Santos s-s-since 2005. I came here to meet an online girlfriend of mine when I first got here… I'd l-like not to t-t-talk about what h-happened since then."

"Alright, Shizuka. Maybe some other time then." Said Mikaela to Shizuka, who was blushing across her face. Alright, how is she getting along with her so quickly?! She was never like this first time I met her! Sometimes, I wonder why we men can't understand what women are thinking or how they get along so quick as if they met in the first grade.

After the conversations were all said and done, I decided to discuss about the deal at Roger's Scrapyard.

"Alright, my guy Gerald wants some uncut Coke from a deal that is happening in La Puerta. The deal is currently going down at Roger's Scrapyard between a group known as The Professionals and the Ballas. Now, the Ballas I've dealt with before on behalf of my boss, Simeon. But the Professionals, from their title sound pretty serious to me, so be alert for heavy responses from both sides." I told them in detail.

"What about weapons?" Kayla asked.

"I have that taken care of. All of them are at the back of my car. I always come through with the shits." I said to Kayla in assurance.

"Okay, guys! Let's go and take down some motherfuckers!" Sam said to us all in a gusto attitude.

From there, we left Tequi-La-La and went down to the Scrapyard to take down both Ballas and the Professionals.

**6:22 PM: Roger's Scrapyard, Intersection bet. Alta and South Arsenal, La Puerta**

We parked in front of the scrapyard which was surrounded by tall brick walls, but had a small wall and a small sized pillar on each side of the entrance, between the wall and the pillar on both sides was a metal fence to exit and enter. Inside was a large collection of different items rusted vehicles, including a rusted Soviet-era war tank that was next to a commuter bus. From the looks of it, both the Ballas and the Professionals were across at the opposite side still conversating about the deal. From a distance, there were SUVs and Sedans parked nearby with wooden boxes possibly containing contraband.

Once I finished scouting, I went away from hiding behind the right wall and went nearby my car to tell them what I saw from my viewpoint.

"Alright, from the looks of it, they have close to twenty four people and are well armed. They're somewhat protected by their cars and other rusting vehicles nearby. The Professionals have two guards behind the entrance. We move in on my count." I said to Sam, Mikaela and Shizuka.

The rest of them nodded. Shizuka and Mikaela went on the left, while Sam and I went on the right. I took a deep breath before counting.

"3, 2, 1… Move out!" I commanded to them.

Shizuka and I shot at the two Professionals who were Asian and White and wore black suits. They fell dead to the ground like your average bully pushing down on a freshman kid, but their blood-filled screams had already alerted everyone else's attention. At that moment, bullets started flying everywhere. I quickly ran up to a crate beside the Soviet war tank for cover. From the view that I possessed, there were two Pros either trying to blind fire or directly shoot at me with them taking cover inside a rusted bus.

"Fuck me!" I said to myself in anger. I came out of cover and fired my Carbine Rifle at the two Professionals in tan suits who had at fired at me before. I managed to kill off both of them leaving rounds in their abdomens and heads, but caught seven rounds to my abdomen. I swear it feels like a bunch of mini-footballs being thrown at your chest if you're not too careful.

Thank God I bought the armor else we'd all be in danger. Catching bullets while wearing body armor doesn't mean you're in the clear. Depending on the bullet itself, you might be in for trouble if you're facing armor piercing rounds. Better off receiving blunt force trauma than getting killed by penetrated armor rounds.

Sam went inside of the commuter bus next to me and killed three Ballas with a pump shotgun, but caught a few wounds to his arms since they were out in the open. Mikaela and Shizuka hid behind a crate to my far right and blind fired at four Ballas. The rest of them just fired at Mikaela and Shizuka as if they were amateurs trying to become soldiers, but fell victim to both of their fire since they weren't wearing bulletproof armor.

"If you're here for the coke, you dicks can eat lead for all I fucking care! The rest of you will die at our hands." Said one of the Professionals.

"Shut up, you amateur hitmen! Working with low-life three bit gangstas for some damn coke?! To hell with you Professionals!" Said Sam in an angry and pissed-off tone. I've got to admit, this guy has some balls when it comes to insults.

After Sam's insults at our enemies ended, I reloaded my rifle and fired at three Ballas who were out in the open and were shooting at Shizuka and Mikaela's location. Fortunately, I managed to kill off the rest of them while standing in the open, but caught several rounds to both my left arm and my chest, which hurt like a bunch of spiders biting on a wound. As soon as I got to cover, I touched my armor and realized to my shock that the rounds had already pierced through my armor.

"_**Shit! These ARE armor-piercing rounds. We'll be fucked if we don't move fast." I thought to myself.**_

As I looked at my wounds, I took a quick glance and noticed that Mikaela and Shizuka got out their combat pistols and shot at three professionals (all white in grey suits) who were in front of a garage. Both of them managed to take them out as the rest fell victim to both their rounds, but caught rounds real damn quick due to slow reaction time.

All of us quickly ran out of our positions and moved up to find some cover since the remainder of our enemies were hiding behind a small set of crates nearby the three SUVs to protect the coke.

"Look, just give it up already! We've killed a majority of your friends here. Give us the coke and maybe we'll spare your lives." I said to the rest of the Professionals and Ballas.

"Fuck you if you think we're going to pussy out and surrender like that!" said a black Professional with an angry tone in his voice.

Deciding to end this nonsense, I popped out of my hiding place, which was a crate in front of the rusted bus and fired at a purple SUV where two Professionals (with bald hair and dark suits) were hiding. As I fired, one of them brought out a pump shotgun and aimed it at me. By that time, I realized that I had just screwed myself. I managed to kill the guy with quick succession by firing a couple rounds at him (making him yell as he died), but the shots that he fired from the gun before he got murked had hit me like someone had just pummeled me to the ground. I quickly went back to cover, coughing up an average amount of blood as a result of the hit that I took.

Sam popped out of his position, hiding behind a shot-up black Sedan and managed to kill the last two Ballas members, but took some rounds from a Professional, who hid behind the SUV I was aiming at. Mikaela performed some random blind fire shooting at the remaining Professionals, but was lucky enough to kill two Professionals. Shizuka and Sam got out their shotguns and fired at the remaining Professionals who had come out from their positions to kill the rest of us. Sam managed to collect the coke product which was found on the ground, underneath a rusted Calvacade.

I came out of my hiding place, still badly wounded from all the rounds that I took.

"Holy shit, *coughs out blood* those goddamn Professionals sure know how to aim a damn gun. Crap, I need some medical attention." I said to Sam, Mikaela and Shizuka.

"The feeling's much shared, my bro. I think we all need medical attention, but first we got to deliver this to Gerald." Sam said to me with some bloody wounds embedded in his chest and arms.

"L-L-let's not waste a-a-any more time h-h-here, this place is an f-f-fuckin' mess of a bloody m-murder scene r-r-right now. Come on, let's g-g-go to your b-boss." Shizuka said with a weary, tired voice.

We later departed from the scrapyard and went to Gerald's apartment.

**(Less than 10 Minutes Later)**

After a short but exhausting drive, we finally arrived at Gerald's apartment in Strawberry. As we approached Gerald's front door, he was already waiting for us. As far as I could notice, he was still wearing the same outfit from earlier.

"Shit, what took y'all so long? Goddamn, y'all looked fucked up though!" Gerald said to us, noticing the wounds we got courtesy of the Ballas and the Professionals.

"Listen, Gerald. We just busted our fucking balls and shed blood in a firefight, trying to get the damned coke from the Ballas and Professionals! Ballas are one thing, but the Professionals don't play around with their business. They fight like they've seen combat in the Middle East, and I've seen some fucked up things there!" I said to Gerald in a tired manner. _Damn, those wounds got me fucked up._

"Well, that's what happens in this game. Its dog eat dog, kill or be killed. Anyway, I'll send some money up y'alls way since yo asses took some beatings from those fools. Don't mention this to anyone, you hear me?!" Gerald told the rest of us.

Already tired from the firefight, we left Gerald's apartment feeling accomplished, but a bit broken down and wounded.

"Screw this, I'm going to the hospital to get treated for this shit. I don't feel like driving right now, so Sam, you're taking me there." I said to Sam.

"Alright, Mikaela and Shizuka. Follow us if you don't want to die of your wounds." Sam said to the both of them in a blunt tone.

I walked up to the passenger's side of my door, ready to leave the apartment complex. But as I was about to enter the car, I fell into a state of unconsciousness, landing on the ground as I heard the rest of them call out my name in concern and worry.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait (apologizing as usual), but I got admitted a College not too long ago. That's why I've been gone for over a month. I hope this chapter has impressed the rest of you, if not then I'll try my best to improve. I like taking a long period of time to work on my chapters since it gives me more time to access what I've typed and to look back at any mistakes or if there's still room for improvement. The character, Shizuka Kichida came from one of my reviewers named SpartanShoes28 (you're awesome, by the way!) and I know there will be complaints from some of you due to her stuttering in her speech. SpartanShoes already explained to me why she has it (will be revealed in a later chapter). Part of the next chapter will flashback to Thomas's past with Merryweather Security and explain what happened to him before the events of the story, the rest will be explained in the future.**

**The Professionals are a enemy group the GTA Online Protagonist faces multiple times in GTA Online, so I wanted to give them a more "gung-ho and we're serious" presence in the firefight. If you want more info on them, go to the GTA wiki. That's where I got a lot of references. Now onto some pressing matters.**

**1\. To the reviewer who keeps asking to use that "Carly De Santa" OC, I pray you find peace in your life with whatever you're dealing with, because I'm done having to put up with your bitching about how I won't add your generic OC, Carly De Santa to my story. I've already made and proven my point. I have gone to NativeGuns's story, "Concrete Jungle", read some of the reviews you left on his story and I can say that I am disappointed with your behavior. I also read the now, already deleted, useless reviews that you left on my story making mockery of me and NativeGuns about fault with your generic OC (which we both agree on), along with how you point out your temper tantrums (acting like a child) despite being a grown teen. Obviously, you need help. Go ahead and make your empty, hollow threats towards me, I'll still be here making my chapters, providing the best of what I can offer to my readers. God bless the rest of you guys who've supported this far.**

**2\. For a couple of months, I might not be as active as I was before due to school issues. I will try my hardest to bring out some chapters later on in the coming weeks or months. If you want to keep up to date with my story, I'd advise looking at my profile with what's been going on. I don't want to keep any one of you in the dark. To NativeGuns's review of Chapter 7, yes, Thomas bought a low class apartment at Del Perro.  
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**3\. If you're concerned with the numbering of the story, I deleted the OC chapter since I felt it was no longer needed anymore now that I have my full list of OC's.  
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**4\. As for anonymous reviews, I will still accept them, but I'd advise being careful with what you type. The reviewer I mentioned before is an example of a ranting reviewer who can't seem to accept facts and take them as final say. To the guys who made the "Carla O'Dell" and "Andrew Ross" OCs, both will be used in future chapters, so be prepared to see them in future chapters. By the way, this story will be going to a 3rd-Person POV story as I believe GTA has been seen in multiple perspectives from various characters. So this may or may not be the final chapter in 1st Person. PM or review me if you want this in either one.  
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**5\. The Heists update is very impressive. There's a lot of setup missions to do for every Heist mission and teamwork is very important, same with communication. There's a lot of benenfits for playing the update if you're a huge GTA fan.**

**Update as of 04/03/15: I have something to ask of the reviewers. Please leave a review whether if I should do "Flood in the LS River" (which features The Lost for a second time) or Meth'd Up (which leads to Thomas meeting Trevor due to stealing a Meth Lab van from his shop).**


	11. Chapter 10-Beach Bums

Hey there, guys. It's Tom here. Just to inform you all, I've been busy with school work since I'm nearing my high school graduation (Yahoo!). Things have been a bit stressful upon me really and it took me quite a while to make this one. I spent a week and a half after the last chapter doing some research on PMC's and urban warfare, which is pretty detailed. As of yesterday, I'm currently working on Chapter 11, which is Meth'd Up and I hope you like this one though. More relaxed, despite the lack of action in this chapter. So to those that wanted to see more I apologize, can't please all of you. This may be one of my most average chapters by far. Just leave a review or PM if you can. Thanks, Tom Tha Author!

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**Beach Bums**

**Outside of Gerald's Apartment Complex: Strawberry, Los Santos, 6:42 PM**

"Thomas! Shit, he passed out! Dude took more rounds from the Professionals than we did. Those hitmen fucks messed with the wrong people. When I see those guys…" Sam said to Mikaela and Shizuka. At that point, they knew that time was of the essence for Thomas and themselves.

"I understand your anger, Sam. But right now, we have to get him and ourselves some medical attention after that messy firefight at that scrapyard. Come on, let's get out of here." Mikaela said in a calm manner.

Shizuka mentioned, "The nearest h-h-hospital is the C-Central L-L-Los Santos Hospital. The M-Mount Zonah hospital is too far from w-where we are."

Mikaela agreed with Shizuka's comment, saying, "Alright then, it's decided. We're going to CLS Hospital."

Sam picked up Thomas off the ground and placed him in the passenger seat of his black and purple Bravado Gauntlet, while Mikaela drove in her red and black Benefactor Schafter, while Shizuka took off in her Premier for the hospital.

**7:00 PM, Central Los Santos Hospital, East Strawberry**

Mikaela, Shizuka and Sam entered into the hospital looking for a nurse to help treat Thomas of his wounds before things could get worse by the minute. Nearby the receptionist's table across from them was a black nurse whose last name was Jenkins in her 40's, with a long-sleeve dark blue shirt with dark blue pants and a nurse's jacket. She approached them as the others were waiting in the middle of the waiting room.

Nurse Jenkins came nearby and said, "What happened to this young man and the rest of you guys?"

Sam answered, "We were victims of a Vagos shooting. Walked into a drug deal by accident and got shot up a couple times. Unfortunately, our friend here took most of the shots."

"Oh. You young souls. We'll treat you guys as best as we can. Why don't you all go into the emergency room and get ready?" The nurse said with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

Shizuka nodded with a smile and said "Thank y-you so much. W-W-We'll be on o-our way."

The nurse brought out a hospital bed for Thomas and was laid there by the nurse as the rest followed into the white and brown hallway where they could see some victims, mostly Black and Hispanic gang members from either Ballas, Families and Vagos affiliations in numerous hospital rooms either in casts, being treated of their wounds or laying in their beds with anesthesia flowing through their veins.

The nurse started to hook him up to medical equipment while the others watched. Shizuka asked the doctor in concern, "W-Will he m-m-make it, right?" Nurse Jenkins said, "Oh don't worry. I'm sure the good Lord is watching over him right now."

Shizuka was feeling pleased, but filled with some uncertainty over what could with Thomas, herself and the others. Nevertheless, she spoke to the nurse and said, "Thank you" to the nurse for the kind words she said to Shizuka in regards to Thomas. As they left the room for treatment, unbeknownst to them, Thomas was experiencing a flashback from his past while being in an unconscious state.

"**Baghlan: Part One"**

Flashback (Thomas): June 15th, 2011 (3:30 PM), Base Flying Eagle, outskirts of Kabal, Afghanistan

**Thomas had recently finished dressing up into his Merryweather uniform with grey camo clothing, utility belt and various cargo pockets. From the debriefing he had heard today from his superiors, his squad had been assigned to assist forces to fight for control of the city of Baghlan. The city, despite not being the capital of Baghlan Province, was being sought for control by a terrorist group known as the Islamic Front of Afghanistan. They came into prominence two weeks after the Twin Tower attacks on Liberty City, terrorizing innocents, enforcing Sharia law and campaigning on ruling the entire country. The IFA was planning to invade, so the U.S government contracted Merryweather to fight them off. Since then, fighting on both sides have been heavy, leaving numerous casualties and some wounded including civilians.**

**Baghlan, a city in Baghlan Province was important since the city was well known for trading imports and exports of good, particularly sugar and cotton products. The government knew if they were to take control of it, they could use the profit of those products for their own funding and resources.**

**Thomas had been itching to go into warzone combat, for a while now since he had grown tired of protecting diplomats and ambassadors for whatever political deals they had to negotiate for the protection of America. Thomas was given command of his fireteam's operation and was excited for what was to come. He was walking to the armory nearby the living quartes, where he saw the rest of his squad getting ready to spill blood on their adversaries.**

**Thomas approached one of his longtime friends in Merryweather named Marshall. A Black male from Manchester and serving in Merryweather for the same amount of time Thomas had been in the private security, he shared a good friendship with the guy since he joined in 2007. **

**Thomas shook Marshall's hand and said, "Well, Marshie. You're getting ready to pump lead in those bastards?"**

**Marshall nodded his head and said, "Yeah, Thom. Ready as I've always been. Come on, let's go kill some damn ragheads."**

"**Oh! Enough with your prejudices against Arabs, Marshie! Just grow a pair of balls and stop calling them Ragheads." Shouted Paul, who had just finished cleaning his assault rifle. The Caucasian, blue-eyed and short brown-haired male was from Alderney City, raised since birth with his twin brother, Shawn. Both of them were raised in a suburban neighborhood with foster parents since their biological parents were both underage and weren't living up to raising their own kids. Both him and Shawn joined Merryweather since they didn't want to become military brats.**

"**He's pissed off because he thinks all Arabs are sensitive, religious freaks with a poor record of morality. Get off the Kool-Aid, man. Most people nowadays don't hold that type of fucked-up thinking anymore. It's the 2010's, not post-9/11 where everyone thought Muslims was the spawn of Satan. The Brits haven't been fully accepting of them for a while." Said Shawn as he finished fixing his carbine rifle. Shawn was similar to his brother in most respects, except that he was more known for his awareness of what was going on around him and being the oldest between himself and Paul.**

"**I think you two twats need to look at the crappy society those guys live in. Why the hell would anyone want to come from a place where they mistreat women and put them at second class, worship their so-called "Allah", and commit atrocious acts against the innocent for speaking against their God? Means complete fuckin' bollocks to me, my dear chaps." A pissed Marshall said to both Paul and Shawn. **

**Thomas with a bored expression on his face from the arguing said, "Look, all of you have made great points, but I look at it from both sides. They have a poor society, but thank God that there are people who want to change the way they live over there. Besides, enough with the arguing we have a city to retake. The rest shouted "Hell Yeah!" in cheers and walked out of the armory, ready to face the terrorists in Baghlan. Ten minutes later, Thomas and the rest departed from Flying Eagle to recapture Baghlan.**

**The convoy entered the southern portion of Baghlan which was the safe zone for Merryweather forces since the place had not been fully damaged and the fact that there was a local hospital nearby a couple blocks down made it easier on medical support. It was set up around a couple of neighborhood blocks whereas some places had been battle-worn as a result of artillery fire. Once Thomas and the rest got out of the Merryweather Mesa, they met with the commander of the operation, James Adams- a gruff, no-nonsense, blue-eyed 40-something year old man well known for his exploits in Merryweather despite some controversial calls and actions he's committed in the pasts such as calling in airstrikes when they're not needed, using illegal steroids and treating civilians like crap. **

**Adams spoke in a Southern drawl, as he smoked a cigar. "Welcome, Marston. I see you brought the dogs along with you. Anyway, let me cut to the damn chase. A contact of ours named Faheem had info regarding the Islamic Front's supply routes and a list of important figures running the show. Now from what we've gathered from IAA intel is that he's been held captive by IFA fighters somewhere in a large courtyard. Anyway, this is nothing but a search and rescue mission. So your team is being paired up with Fireteam Delta. They're somewhat fresh in the Circuit, so you're in command. Now go out there and damn them to hell."**

**Thomas with a salute and a nod, shouted "Sir, yes Sir!" Thomas went to Delta's position and noticed how young they were. They were racially mixed, ranging in ages 18 to 22 and ready to see some action. Thom approached one of the members, a young Asian-American male as he was talking to the rest of the members. "Hey you over there, I'm Thomas Marston. Adams said that my fireteam and yours is being paired up to take back a government building." The young male shook his hand and smiled, "That's awesome! I've heard about your exploits Thom, how you single-handedly took out a squad of drug cartel members in Brazil while almost all of your team died. The name's Han by the way."**

**Thomas was surprised by the comment, but responded in a positive tone, "Nah, that was nothing. I wanted to make sure all my men were alright." Han then introduced Thomas to the remaining three members. First one he met was a black Canadian named Deshawn aka "Dopeboy", since he was known for his usage of marijuana, then met Ricardo, who hailed from Miami and last, but not least got introduced to Jeremiah, a biracial male from Carcer City. After meeting the rest, he introduced them to Marshall, Shawn and Paul. After the camaraderie had ended, they set out to the government building to save the hostages and recapture the building from the terrorists.**

**(flashback ends)**

**Present Day: South Los Santos Hospital, Strawberry, 5:30 PM  
**

Thomas woke up breathing heavily and experiencing symptoms of dizziness and nausea from the flashback that he had experienced and waking up from a short-term coma. Thomas with a sense of distress and melancholy thought to himself, _"Oh man, I can't believe this is happening. The entire thing was fucked after we left the camp." _He looked around the pale brown-white room and noticed that he was hooked to a few machines nearby him to check on his condition and still in medical garments. Thom looked at the clock at the far top of the wall to his right that it was 5:30 PM. By that time, Nurse Jenkins came in and had an expression of happiness on her face as she noticed Thom was awake. She said, "Mr. Marston glad to see your awake now. You've been in a coma for about two days now, experienced some blunt force trauma and lost no less than 30 percent of blood, but thank God your friends came here to make sure you recovered."

Thomas expressed happiness at what the nurse just told him, "Yeah. I am glad or else I would've gone to kingdom come. Hey, I'm feeling kind of dizzy and nauseous right now." Nurse Jenkins immediately wrote out a prescription for Thomas and gave it to him. "Give the prescription to the clerk of Smoke On The Water. The medicine will help you well." She later removed Thomas from the machines and gave him his car keys and the clothing he wore two days ago during the shootout. Once Thom changed into his clothing, he got his car keys and left the hospital. First thing he did was call Mikaela to let her know that he was out of the hospital.

"Hey, Mikaela. Guess who's still living right now?" Thomas said to Mikaela.

Mikaela shouted with glee, "Hell yeah, I knew you'd make it! So how are you doing, want me to come get you?"

Thomas replied, "Nope. I got my Gauntlet with me right now. I found out that I was in a coma for about two days. I mean holy crap! It felt like a day and a half to me, maybe that was the anesthesia affecting me. The nurse who treated me said that I would experience a couple headaches, so she gave me a prescription to some place known as 'Smoke on the Water'."

Mikaela said, "Yeah, it's at Vespucci Beach. Hey, you know what?! Let's celebrate your release from the hospital by going to the beach. I'll bring Sam and Shizuka, while you can bring the others. It will be fun."

Thomas chuckling, replied "Oh yeah! I haven't been to the beach in months and medical marijuana in Los Santos? This city does have some redeeming qualities after all. Give me thirty minutes and I'll be good. I'll see you later."

Mikaela said, "Okay Tom, I'll see you then." After that, the call ended. Thomas then went to the parking lot nearby the hospital, entered his Gauntlet and texted the others to come to the beach. "_Good to be back", _Thomas thought in excitement. He later tuned the radio to Vinewood Boulevard Radio and "Lucky" by Radiohead was playing. As Thom was driving out of Strawberry, he thought of going to Sub Urban at Del Perro to get some beach clothing since the only clothes he had in his possession were professional and urban.

**(15 minutes later…)**

Thomas arrived at the store and the time was 5:45 PM. Looking at the time on his phone, he entered the store in a rush not wanting to waste any more time. The clerk, who happens to be a young blonde, wearing a black cardigan with a floral shirt and jean shorts greeted Thomas as he walked to the back portion of the store. Thomas tried on a couple of beach clothing until he tried on a white tanktop, black flip-flops and bright orange shorts which he thought went well for the occasion. After purchasing and changing into the clothing, Thomas left for Vespucci Beach, ready to celebrate his return from the hospital. While driving there, he called Sam to let him know that he was on his way. "Hey Sam! I'm on my way to the beach dude, just give me some time to get there." Thomas said to Sam. Sam replied, "Alright. We'll meet you at the entrance of the Pier."

Thomas arrived at Vespucci Beach and parked at the parking lot nearby the underside of the Del Perro pier. Once he got to the entrance, he saw Mikaela, Shizuka, Samuel, Maddie and the rest in front of the pier wearing various beach clothing. Thom went up to shake hands with everyone that was there. Samuel wearing nothing but light blue shorts and sandals was the first to speak, "Finally, the man of the hour is here! All of us had to come and check up on you since the shootout."

"Thanks for checking me up while I was hooked to IV's and heart monitors. So what happened while I was away?" Thomas asked all of them. Shizuka wearing a black bikini top with pink beach shorts and sporting new short hair replied to Thomas's question, "Well since you w-were in the h-hospital, we had to t-take up some j-jobs from G-Gerald. As I r-recall, some of us had to b-break up a couple d-deals in Dutch London S-Street and the L-Los Santos River." Thomas nodded to Shizuka, "And I missed out on all the fun. As a matter of fact, aren't we supposed to do exactly just that?"

Austin wearing a blue tanktop with black shorts replied "Hell yeah! By the way, Jamila and Mikaela got two camper vans with some cool beach artwork, it's known as the Bravado Paradise. Performs pretty well for a camper van, really." Jamila wearing a red bikini raised her hands, a bit peeved, "Stop the yapping and let's go to the beach already. Us ladies need to bathe in the sun while you guys drink beer and stare at sunbathing women at the same damn time!"

Thomas, Madison, Austin and Miles drove in the Paradise van with an Octopus painting on the driver's side, while the others drove in the other van with a painting of an ocean wave. Once everyone arrived to the beach, they got out the beach chairs and various beach items to use for the celebration. Thomas went to get the cooler of drinks out and gave everyone a beer then shouted, "A toast to yours truly not dying in the hospital and knocking on Heaven's door, also another toast to Sam, Mikaela and Shizuka for taking me there when my ass was unconscious!" After Thomas proclaimed the toast everyone started to celebrate.

Miles grinned, placing a friendly arm on his right shoulder "Listen, Thomas. If you want ever in case you die, we'll send your remains to your family members or give your body to those Altruist creeps up in the mountain."

Thomas replied in a "weirded-out" manner by raising his hands in alarm, "Look, Miles I appreciate the honesty, but this young soul isn't dying anytime soon or is ready to face death at the hands of some insane nudist dicks who think all generations after them are fuck-ups."

Miles replied back, looking at him like he took his joke seriously, "Hey dude. Don't worry I was only joking about that. I was trying to uplift the mood some more. Ya know, Austin, Sam and I are making a bet on whoever is the last to chug down eight beers or less within five minutes or less will have to streak nude throughout the shorewalk." Thomas laughed after Miles told him this, "You know what, I could use some friendly competition for once. I still remember that time at Bahamas Mamas. We both were shit faced then, hope your stomach is ready." Miles smirked, "It's on, alright."

Thomas and Miles began to walk to the cooler at the back of the bus where Austin and Sam were and shook hands with them. Sam was speaking to Austin as they were coming, "Hey dude. I hope you don't pass out or something, you're already twenty one years old, I thought you didn't drink a lot with your moral code or whatever?" Austin answered, "Nah for me, it depends on the situation. I just find this pretty funny to do since we're celebrating Thomas's return from the hospital. Reminds me of that 'Douchebag' show with Dave-O, T-Bag, Lil' Midget and the others."

"Gentlemen, are y'all prepared to get shit-faced and potentially arrested for public indecency and intoxication?" Thomas asked them. Sam replied to Thomas's question, "Oh hell yeah! I've been in these kinds of drinking contests back in Liberty City." The rest immediately grabbed out the Pibwasser bottles and began to drink. Sam was drinking the fastest out of all of them with four down, Thomas and Miles were down with two bottles while Austin was just drinking just one bottle. Some minutes pass by and all of them are practically drunk at this point. Sam had downed four more bottles at this point, while the others could barely catch up to him. Austin was starting to feel sick after drinking five bottles.

"Aw shit, I feel like shit man! I should have never agreed to this damned contest!" Austin said to the others while slurring his words.

"Well, you're an awful son of a bitch, Austin. You and that soft-ass liver of yours. Only pussies complain when they can't handle their beer!" Sam shouted at Austin. At this point, he had just finished drinking his seventh bottle of Pibwasser. Thomas just finished downing his sixth bottle and said to Sam, "Hey f-f-fuck you! I-I'm ready to beat your poor ass right now, you think can beat me?! Watch and l-learn." Thomas opened his seventh and started drinking it midway until he threw up bile on the sand nearly falling onto the bile he had barfed up. Miles on the other hand quit during his fifth one, stating that he didn't want to become sick on the spot.

"Ha! I beat you fucking losers, seems to me Austin that you'll have to bare your naked losses now!"Sam shouted whilst looking at the sky. Austin still feeling drunk flipped him off as he was sitting down in front of the side door of the Octopus van, trying to sober up.

Just as he said that, the rest of the girls arrived with the rest of the gear, ready to leave. Madison approached Sam as he was taking off his clothing. "What the hell is going on here?" Madison asked Sam. Sam slurring his words said to Madison, "W-We were having a drinking c-contest *hiccups* earlier and these pathetic a-assholes made a b-bet saying that whoever could not reach eight bottles had to streak nude across the shorewalk." Jamila shaking her head in humor said, "Boys will be boys, girls. This is one example of it. Anyway Sam, I don't think Austin can partake in this crap you guys arranged, he looks like he's going to pass out soon."

Thomas stood up next to Austin and mentioned, "Hey can one of you guys be a sweet darling and show the lazy stoner at Smoke On the Water my prescription?" Thomas said to the rest in a drunken stupor as he held his doctor's note. Mikaela went up to him and took the prescription from his hands. Mikaela took his prescription and moaned "You owe me one for this, although I doubt you'll be able to remember this once you wake up." Thomas sighed, "Alright, alright. Just remind me when I see you again sometime soon."

After Mikaela got Thomas's marijuana meds, the girls had to pack up the beach items much to the chagrin of every single one of them. Once they finished up, everyone left Vespucci Beach satisfied in themselves having spent the day celebrating Thomas's release from the hospital. The only thing that had to be done was drop off all the guys off since they were intoxicated and still unable to move in an appropriate manner. Once the girls took care of them, they retired for the rest of the night.

**(Chapter End)**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**1\. The Circuit is the term for Private Military Companies when they do their business and stuff like that.**

**2\. For those that aren't too familiar with GTA, Smoke On the Water is a medical marijuana shop on Vespucci Beach that has been shown in the game multiple times when you switch as Franklin.**

**3\. One chapter will feature Dr. Friedlander and will reveal more on Thomas's flashback.**

**4\. To the reviewer, Bag of Orphans, your OC, "Carla O'Dell" will be featured in the next chapter, but will be shown in a cameo or will be introduced in a cameo. I'd advise forming an official account so that way I can get more details and advice.**

**5\. For a while now, I've been considering changing the name of this story due to how it has now revolved around Thomas and the main cast. I initially wanted to tell Thomas's story, but I'm thinking of giving it a different name so that the story won't just focus on him alone. I've accepted a lot of the review OC's and I want to give them as much attention as I do for the main character.**

**Edit (5/13/15): To Bag of Orphans, I just need to know some more info about Carla's life and how I can introduce her into the story.**


	12. Chapter 11- Meth'd Up

Chapter 11-Meth'd Up

**Thursday, 9:30 AM, 1112 Boulevard Del Perro, Del Perro**

Thomas woke up with a throbbing headache and some nausea as a result of the alcohol intake from yesterday. His memory being somewhat spotty, he recalled being drunk with Samuel, Austin and Miles during the beach party. From what he also recalled, he had given his medical marijuana prescription to Mikaela and received the meds from her, but couldn't remember what occurred next.

Thomas thought to himself in a moody manner, _"Ugh. I've got to stop hanging with those guys sometimes. I love alcohol as much as the next guy in the bar, but I'm not a huge fan of hangovers. Don't want to wake up in an alleyway next to a dead hooker and a homeless junkie." _

Getting out of his bed, he walked over to the living room, getting ready to use the new meds he had gotten from Nurse Jenkins, the nurse who had treated him two days ago. The bag of marijuana was laying in front of him, nearby the red and yellow bong piece on the table. He placed the marijuana into the bong and began to smoke it.

Thomas coughed out the smoke as it was taking effect on his brain. "Oh my god, that feels so good! Nothing like sweet, old Mary Jane. Now lemme cook up some breakfast for myself", Thomas giddily thought to himself. He went to the kitchen started to cook up a batch of pancakes and sausages for his hungering stomach. After cooking and consuming the meal he made for himself, Thomas went to walk over to the Rob's Liquor store that is a block across from his place of residence just to get some snacks for himself. As he was walking nearby the store, a trio of Ballas were getting out of a black Baller. The two male Ballas were both sporting cornrows, while the female was sporting short hair.

All of them were sporting purple bandanas but wore different clothing. A 5'8 foot female was wearing black leggings, purple and gold sneakers and a purple hoodie; A biracial male was wearing a purple letterman jacket bearing the "SA" logo with a white shirt underneath the jacket, wore plain blue jeans and had his hat backwards; The last member wore a white hoodie with faded denim jeans and a grey shirt bearing the emblem of the Los Santos Panic, the basketball team of San Andreas.

Thomas, feeling paranoid and worried due to the effects of the weed he had smoked quickly walked over to the alleyway next to the store and hid alongside the wall to avoid being jumped or seen by the Ballas. _"Shit! I can't risk going in there and seeing blood in the store. I might get either killed or robbed! What should I do?! I know, I'll call the police on them."_ Thomas thought to himself as he started to sweat under worry. He grabbed out his iFruit phone and dialed 911 to alert the police about the situation.

A female operator responded to the call, "911 services. What's the emergency?"

Thomas said to the responder, "Okay uh… I just noticed a trio of Ballas walking to the Rob's Liquor store on Prosperity Street, Morningwood. I think they just entered the store right now and they're already shouting at the clerk. Can you get a cop car here?"

The operator replied to Thomas's request candidly, "Alright sir. I'll send a cop car on your way."

The operator dropped the call and Thomas was still at the same spot he was when he spotted the masked thieves walking towards the store. At this time, he was worried about what could happen next, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard cop sirens coming towards Prosperity Street one or two blocks down from the store. The Ballas trio had managed to rob the store and tied up the Indian clerk and placed the shaken-up clerk at back of the closet room.

"Aw shit, the pigs have arrived. Let's bail the hell out of here!" the Balla with the letterman jacket said.

The female Balla shouted, "Ain't there no way I'm being taken downtown again by those fools! I'm not going back to being a prison bitch yet again."

The Balla with the white hoodie made a scowl on his face as he looked at his fellow accomplices, "Will the both of y'all shut yo damn mouths?! We're wasting time here!" As Thomas came out of hiding, he noticed to his chagrin the thieves had immediately dashed towards the Baller and fled from the scene heading downtown. As soon as the Ballas left, the cops had arrived to the scene too late. The cop in the passenger seat, a mid-40's black male with two scars on his both his cheeks and small afro got out of the police vehicle and approached Thomas.

The cop who looked like he had been in combat asked Thomas in a deep voice, "Excuse me, sir. Did you see the robbers that dispatch provided for us?"

Thomas responded in haste, "Yeah I saw them! They just fled downtown or somewhere else…"

"Alright, thank you for the information. Have a good day sir." The officer told Thomas as he went back into the cop cruiser.

The cop cruiser left and all Thomas could do was shake his head in complete disappointment over what had taken place. Not wanting to mope around, he left the area to go back home. Once he arrived back at his apartment, Thomas had decided to retire to bed for an hour or two after having to deal with the store robbery. Once he went to sleep, he started to dream about some of the events that occurred during Baghlan.

_ "Baghlan: Part 2"_

**4:15 PM-Baghlan, Afghanistan**

**Thomas and the newly formed platoon left in a heavily armored black HVY Insurgent Pick-Up. As they were driving through the secure areas Merryweather had recaptured, Thomas and the rest were discussing about the mission at hand. **

**Thomas asked about everyone's emotions at the moment. "So how are you guys feeling about this mission so far?"**

"**Pretty anxious, but excited at the same time. I can't believe this will be Delta's first." Said Jeremiah as he made a smile.**

"**Well, dude. My fireteam and yours are working as a squad now since Command believes there would be a higher success ratio if two fireteams work together as one." Shawn stated to Jeremiah.**

**Paul grinned as he fist-bumped his brother. "Couldn't agree more, bro. You know, I'm quite thankful to God we're riding in this Insurgent. This baby's is the version of combining a SUV and a Rhino together."**

**Marshall replied back to Paul, "I agree, but that doesn't mean it's fully invincible. Looks quite ugly when it actually takes a lot of damage."**

**Deshawn added to the conversation, "Hey I'm just saying, but don't we need to use codenames for this assignment? Cause both Merryweather and the Military use em' for security purposes."**

**Once Han had heard what Deshawn said, he spontaneously said, "Wait a minute! I just remembered that Commander Adams gave me the list of codenames he assigned us."**

**Thomas looked at the list attentively. "Okay so here's the codenames Adams gave us. I'm going by Blackwater. Shawn and Paul, you guys are going by Orville and Wilbur respectively. Han's going by the codename of "Komodo". Ricardo, you're going by "Diablo". Marshall's going by "Rascal". Deshawn, you're going by "Smoke". And last but not least, Jeremiah-you'll be going by the codename of "Redbone".**

**Han had an expression of annoyance on his face, "Why the hell did he give me 'Komodo' as my codename. That's some racist bullshit right there!"**

"**Hell yeah, I agree with my boy Han! Son of a bitch thinks he can give me that name just cuz I'm half black and white." Jeremiah angrily shouted out. **

**Shawn and Paul shared similar feelings as well as they complained about how they were being given the names of the Wright brothers who were the inventors of flight and how old the names were.**

**Thomas already having enough of the complaints, spoke up. "Can you guys stop bickering about the codenames you were given?! If you're going to bitch about that shit, tell that to Adams when this is done, got that?"**

**Han, Shawn, Paul and Jeremiah reluctantly agreed, but mumbled after what Thomas had said to them.**

**As Thomas drove out of the southern portion of Baghlan and approached the last checkpoint, he noticed how some of the streets were empty like a Texas ghost town. He assumed in his mind that people were hiding in fear and safety of their lives from ISA fighters and he wouldn't blame them one bit for that. After all, the people who come out of war are survivors.**

**Once Thomas had reached the checkpoint, he saw a bearded, tan Afghani youth in his early twenties wearing in grey Middle Eastern clothing and sporting an assault SMG reaching towards his position.**

"**What are you here for? State your purpose." said the Afghani man to Thomas in a strong Middle Eastern accent.**

**Thomas answered, "We're heading towards the street that leads to a government building. Have there been any IFA agents here recently?"**

**The young man replied, "No, but they do hold control over parts of West Baghlan, and all of North Baghlan. I think the government building might be under IFA control. I'm pretty sure the rest of you will be okay, nothing to worry about."**

**Thomas nodded, "Well thanks for the info. Godspeed, dear sir."**

**The young man gave the rest a thumbs up to let Thomas's squad pass through the checkpoint to reach the block where some of the Merryweather forces. Unbeknownst to Thomas and the others, the young Afghani male they had spoken to was an undercover agent for the Islamic Front of Afghanistan and had contacted a strike team of IFA fighters to ambush the entire squad and wipe them out.**

**The man thought to himself, "The stupid infidels will not know what will be in store for them. They will suffer the consequences of interfering with what we are trying to accomplish!"**

**As they were entering the Northwestern part of Baghlan, Thomas and the others were observing the buildings around them. Some were two to three story buildings with various colors painted around. There was graffiti on the walls, some of which either had cracks on them or were falling apart due to the three-day fighting that has been ongoing. Some of the graffiti had Anti-American threats and visual satire such as one showing the hanging of Lady Liberty in front of angry terrorists firing guns with nuclear missiles flying towards the west. **

**Marshall was feeling frustrated. "Shit! No response, guys. I have a bad feeling about this. I've been trying to link in for the past ten minutes, but there's nothing at all. All I'm hearing is white noise from communications.**

**As they were moving towards the end of the street they were on. Paul, being at the gunner's position noticed a blockade of two SUVs and Karin Technicals with eight IFA fighters-three of them carrying RPG's and the rest carrying various rifles, all of which aiming at their position.**

**Paul shouted, "Oh Holy Shit! Blackwater, we got tangos up ahead. It's a damn blockade!"**

**Thomas seething with anger commanded, "We've been screwed over! Wilbur, fuck those bastards up! It's now or never, we have to complete our mission."**

**Paul started to fire bursting rounds from the turret, killing most of the blockade forces with sheer force one by one and blew up a few vehicles on the way. As Paul was still firing at the blockade up ahead, three fighters from the opposite direction fired rockets at the Insurgent Pick-Up. Thomas pressed on the gas pedal to crash into the blockade as he swerved the vehicle around to prevent being hit by an RPG rocket, but felt the momentum of the blast rocking the Insurgent. The Insurgent managed to ram through the blockade, but had taken damage from the blasts it absorbed. Everyone got out of the vehicle once it was over and started to discuss about what had happened.**

**Deshawn shouted, "What in Sam Hill was that bullshit?! They shouldn't have known that we were coming down the end of the street."**

**Thomas put his hands behind his head as he looked at the scene. "The bastard from the checkpoint! He must have been working for IFA and we didn't even notice. Marshall, you were right about that bad feeling. Now look at what has happened!"**

**Marshall put his hand on Thomas's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Look, what has happened has happened. I know you're pissed right now, but we have to keep on moving."**

**Shawn agreed. "Yeah, we can't be moping around like a bunch of emo kids hiding in the shadows of their rooms. By the way, what about the Insurgent? We can't just keep on moving with that thing, two more of those rockets and we're goners!"**

**Paul replied to his brother's comment, "I guess we can still drive towards the building. We're three-fourths of a mile away. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"**

**Han sighed, "Let's pray to God Almighty that you're right. Come on, let's keep moving on."**

**(Flashback Ends)**

**Thursday, 11:50 PM, 1112 Boulevard Del Perro, Del Perro**

Thomas woke up from his flashback-like dream in deep thought. Thomas had the sense that he should have saved the rest of the team while he could, but the situation had turned ugly for the rest of them. He reflected on that day like a flash of light stood out before him. Though he did not know why the memories of that tragic day were still haunting his mind, he knew that sooner or later, he'd have to face facts with what happened in Baghlan. He then changed into a set of clothing that comprised of a black leather jacket with two identical white striped rings on the forearms, a black v-neck shirt, brown jeans and a pair of black boots.

Wanting to forget about what he had dreamt; Thomas went to go grab a beer just to drink away the loss of losing his teammates. He was halfway drinking his second beer when he heard his phone make a notification ring. He went to check the message, turns out it was Gerald. He opened the unchecked message and read it to himself.

"_Alright, fool. I got a word on a hustle. It's outside a town at this serious dealer's spot, but you don't gotta deal with him. He's been selling chemical to some hillbilly types cookin out their RV. Boost the caravan and meet my dudes at the YouTool depot off the freeway. You get money, and I'm in the crystal game. It's all good._"

Thomas thought to himself, "_Gerald wants to enter the realm of Crystal Meth? The hell is he thinking?! In the meth game, it's kill or be killed. Sandy Shores got damned to hell no thanks to that shit! All it's done is make you crazy as a psychopath and do some weird shit you'll regret in the morning. Well, I do need the pay after all. Also, where's the damn location?"_

Thomas texted Gerald, "Where's the location? Can't go to Sandy Shores without knowing where the hustle is?"

Gerald replied back, "The place is a Liquor Ace store somewhere in Sandy Shores, not too far out off the Grand Senora Desert."

Thomas replied, "Thanks. Give me some time to assemble my crew."

Thomas ended the call and started to think about who should come with him on the mission. He considered the fact that he had not called upon Jamila, Madison and Austin in quite a while, so he called them for assistance with the mission and told them to meet him in front of his apartment within one hour or less since he needed to get equipment for the mission.

**2:40 PM, Outside of 1115 Boulevard Del Perro, Del Perro**

Thomas was sitting on top of his purple and black Bravado Gauntlet smoking a cigarette when Jamila, Madison and Austin arrived. They got out of Austin's white Bravado Buffalo and greeted Thomas as he flicked away the cigarette to the ground.

Madison shook Thomas' hand, "Hey dude. So what's this thing about?"

Thomas answered, "Well, long story short. Gerald wants to enter the crystal meth game. I know, it sounds risky and stupid. He wants us to go out all the way to the Grand Senora Desert in Sandy Shores and hijack an RV that belongs to some rednecks and hillbillies nearby some meth dealer's store."

Jamila reacted in disbelief towards Gerald's move to sell meth. "Why the hell would he want to start selling Meth? He wants Los Santos to become worse than it already is?"

Austin responded, "Well, there are some beautiful things about Los Santos. But then, there's the ugly."

Thomas agreed. "Yeah, I definitely can say an 'amen' to that. By the way, I have some surpassed rifles in the trunk of my Gauntlet if you want."

Austin smiled at Thomas sheepishly. "Thanks Thom, but we already got some weapons for everyone to use. Oh and we also got earpieces for everyone to communicate with."

Once the conversation had come to an end, Thomas and Madison left in the Gauntlet Thomas owned, while Austin and Jamila departed in his Buffalo sports car.

**4:20 PM, Sandy Shores, Grand Senora Desert**

The crew drove through the poverty stricken buildings of Sandy Shores. As far as the town's past goes-Sandy Shores was once a prosperous town that was financially well with the benefits of tourism until the toxicity of the sea and especially, the introduction of Methamphetamine ruined the town to what it is today. A town filled with racist rednecks, strung-up hillbillies, prostitutes, meth addicts and violent gangs that could go to war with the Ballas, Aztecas, Families and Vagos at any given minute.

"Thank God we live in Los Santos. I can bet y'all my friends JB and Tanya would not be able to last out here since they're already on Crack." Jamila exclaimed to everyone.

Austin replied back to Jamila's comment, "Well, I feel sorry for them. Shit, this town looks beautiful, but has the town has no soul, only empty, bitter and hopeless."

Thomas looked at Austin and said, "Dude, do you read Edgar Allen Poe or Shakespeare? What you said right there was pretty poetic."

Austin laughed. "Thanks Thom. I like to read stories and poems by some of the greatest poets that existed in their generations." From a distance, Thomas could spot the sign of the Liquor Ace store since it was four blocks away. "Hey listen, guys. We'll have to park across the street in that abandoned motel and get a good look with what we're dealing with." Thomas informed the others via earpiece.

The derelict motel looked like something that came out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie. The motel is made up of two identical buildings shaped like an "L" (comprised of four double-story blocks); had empty, decaying rooms scattered about with rubble and cracked walls; Both buildings for the motel was four stories tall and had a lime color that was fading away as time passed by. As for the rooftops, some had been tagged or sprayed with graffiti, others were "enterable" by means of collapsed shingles and ground that had become piles of rubble in some rooms that led to the rooftops. In the courtyard, there were remains of a swimming pool, tennis court and a recreation room.

The crew had parked into one of the parking lots for the formally functional motel, went through a short passage between the two buildings and went upstairs to the rooftop of the block that was across a couple stores. Thomas got out a suppressed sniper rifle to scope out around the area for any hostilities before they could take the RV.

Thomas mentioned to everyone what he was seeing. "Okay. I'm seeing two rednecks in front of the RV, one guy is nearby the front of the store next to an ice cooler, four guys on the balcony; On the east side, there's a dark green, two story building with two guys on the upstairs deck and I mean one on each end; And there's only one guy sporting a blond mullet who's in front of a trailer home. One last thing, I'll assume there are some rednecks in the store as well."

Everyone was in deep thought thinking how to wipe out all the enemies around the RV until Austin spoke up amongst them

He blurted out, "I have an idea! I'd suggest eliminating the guys on the rooftop first so we can cover more ground. Once that's over with, two of us will have to pick off the guys on the upstairs deck as Thomas mentioned before, along with our mullet boy."

Thomas grinned, "Austin, you are one smart son of a bitch. That's why the world needs more people like you."

Austin replied back with a handshake, "Thanks for the compliment. Alright, y'all ready for this?" Everyone nodded as they were loading magazines into the suppressed sniper rifles. Thomas, Jamila, Austin and Madison got into position, ready to pick off the guys on the rooftop. As luck would have it, they all were facing each other just looking around the area. The rednecks were all sporting tanktops and cargo shorts and had brown hair ranging in styles from buzzed to mullet.

Thomas commanded to everyone, "On my mark… 3, 2, 1, fire!" They shot at the rooftop guards simultaneously with clean headshots, their bodies dropping to the ground with a quick thud.

Madison whispered, "Nice and easy. Thomas, help me take out the guys on the upstairs deck." Thomas nodded his head at Madison. "Got it" he replied back. They turned a bit to the east, paying attention to the guys looking around the area scouting for any sign of trouble. Thomas aimed his sights at his target, a man who wore a black T-shirt, dirty grey sweatpants, and messy dark brown hair in the style of Caesar and wore purple-tinted sunglasses. Taking in a deep breath, he immediately sniped off the guy at the end of the deck, slumping down to the wall. Madison had no trouble with her target-an overweight male; who wore denim overalls and a white T-shirt since he had trouble staying awake.

"Sleep tight, big chief. Life is nothing but a long dream." Madison said after she sniped off her target. Jamila then picked off the guy who wore a blond mullet, black sunglasses, white polo and camo shorts.

Thomas commanded to the rest, "Alright, Madison-you'll come with me to hijack the RV while you guys provide cover for us in case if any reinforcements come."

Everyone agreed with Thomas's suggestion and went to perform their tasks. Thomas and Madison got into the RV with no ease, while Jamila and Austin were nearby keeping a lookout. Just when they were about to leave, a Caucasian clerk wearing a butcher's outfit and sporting a green Mohawk went out of the store to smoke a cig until he saw them with the RV.

The alarmed clerk shouted at an armed assailant in the store, "Shit, we got some douchebags stealing our RV! Alert the others"

Thomas and Madison both cursed at the same time, while Austin fired rounds from his Carbine Rifle at the clerk, dropping him dead to the ground leaking out a pool of blood soaking into his clothing.

Austin noticed the armed guard coming out of the store ready to shoot. Austin then fired a barrage of rounds at the assailant with the guy taking most of the shots to his skull at various places. "Go, go! We'll take care of them!" He shouted at Thomas and Madison. Both of them then left the area to deliver the RV.

Madison warned Thomas, "Hey-yo! There are two guys on a dirt bike coming straight towards us!"

Thomas cursed as he noticed the guy at the back pull out a Micro-SMG and fired at the RV. Fortunately, he missed thanks to bad aim and only got bullet holes at the side of the RV. Austin's voice spoke through the earpiece, "Hey don't worry, Jamila and I already got them. Keep moving, we got a few bogies behind us." At this point, they had already left Sandy Shores and crossed the railroad tracks until Madison spotted up ahead four hillbillies next to a pickup truck, lying nearby the Sandy Shores Airfield hanger.

Madison looked at Thomas. "Hey look up, Thom. We'll have to get out and eliminate them before we continue." Thomas nodded at Madison, parking the RV at the side of the sandy road. They both got out of the RV firing at the hillbillies a couple feet away, execution-style with no haste. Taken care of that, they got back on the RV and took a left turn to a rugged dirt road, leading to a shorter route to the YouTool depot. Austin and Jamila suddenly rolled up in front of them in case of any more adversaries were coming towards them.

Jamila then alerted Thomas and Madison, "Hey guys. We're seeing four guys with rifles up ahead on a dirt mound three feet ahead. How about the two of you go off-road to the YouTool? Austin and I will take care of these bastards."

"Alright, just be careful with them. We're going right now!" Thomas said to the both of them. Jamila and Austin took out the four scouts by sniping them off with the Marksman Rifles, picking them off thanks to the rapid-fire shots of the rifle. Once that job was done, they left the site to meet up with Thom and Maddie. Austin notified them about what happened, "Yeah, our side is done. You got any resistance coming towards you guys?"

Thomas said, "Nah, bro. We're approaching the back of the YouTool store right now." As Thomas drove the RV into the back of the YouTool depot, he saw two Families members with a SUV in front of them.

One of the Families members wearing a green durag said to Thomas and Madison as they hopped out of the RV, "Ayyo, we'll take the RV right now. Gerald wants it delivered to his place right away." Thomas then reached in his pockets and tossed the keys as Jamila and Austin drove into the back of the depot.

Madison asked both the Families members "Where's the money at? We did the job, after all?" The other Families member then ran back to the SUV and brought out four envelopes from the trunk to give to the rest of them. "Here y'all go. That's about twenty-eight thousand, four hundred and eighty dollars right there. Have a nice day. Gerald thanks you all for this." The durag guy said to the crew as him and his partner left with the RV.

Jamila was the first amongst them to speak, "Shit! This is a bit more than what I earn at LifeInvader. Now I'm really thinking of leaving that place." Thomas replied, "I actually thought they paid you guys a good amount of money given how the company is so successful."

Jamila looked at Thomas like he went crazy. "Hell fuckin' no! That Jay Norris son of a bitch deducted everyone's pay just so he can push out more products of LifeInvader just to boost up its value in the stock market. I mean have you seen how much they are worth?! Even Bleeter is doing better because they're more innovative and careful."

Austin replied, "Well, that's American Capitalism for you all. Sometimes good, sometimes bad."

Madison on the other hand was ready to leave. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to wire this money into my account and get some new stuff." She said to the rest in a tone of excitement in her voice.

Thomas then asked Austin a favor, "Hey dude. Think you can gimme a ride to that motel we were at earlier? I left my gauntlet over there." Austin replied back, "Sure Thom. Ladies, care to come along?"

"Sure!" answered Jamila and Madison with a shrug. As the sun was setting, everyone arrived back at the motel just as Thomas entered his Gauntlet.

"Alright, you guys. I'll see y'all some other time, alright. Don't blow that hard-earned money on coke or some other shit!" Thomas shouted to the others as he was about to leave.

"And make sure you don't spend your money on street whores and cheap-ass beer." Madison shot back at Thomas. Thomas said to Madison, "I'll keep that in mind, then."

Everyone then went their separate ways as the sun was setting over the skyline.

* * *

**Hey guys, Tom Tha Author here. It's been damn crazy since I graduated a couple weeks back. I've been trying to find a job for the past couple of weeks. This chapter is one of my longest ones and I put in a lot of time and effort into this one. So I'd appreciate it if anyone could leave a review for this one. It's kinda funny how long this one took like a bit over a month. I hit a huge rut with the flashback sequence since I had various scenarios going through my head. So what I did over the course of May was watch a couple of gameplay videos of C.o.D and Medal of Honor to get a sense of how I wanted the flashback to be.  
**

**The next flashback will appear in a future chapter and will close the book on Thomas's past with Merryweather. I'm yet to work on the next chapter and I might take a few days' break just to look at the direction of how the story should go. Thank you all for your continued support and reading. Peace and God Bless.**

**-Tom Tha Author**


	13. Chapter 12- Trevor Phillips Industries

Trevor Phillips Industries

**A Week Later… Monday morning, 9:00 AM; 1112 Boulevard Del Perro**

It is a thunderous and foggy morning in Los Santos as heavy rain pours into the streets of the City of Saints. The weather has caused numerous accidents on the streets such as innocent civilians being mowed down by drivers who were trying to make it on their way home or driving to their own destinations such as coke parties, nightclubs and the usual. Amongst the chaos of it all, Thomas Marston was tossing and turning in his bed, sweating under stress due to a nightmare he was having.

* * *

**Nightmare Sequence**

Thomas is in a cemetery at the dead of the night, having just finished burying the graves of the teammates he lost under his command. As he is about to leave the place, the remaining, undead members of his platoon arise out of their buried graves, their decaying faces looking at Thomas seething with anger and hatred. Shocked by what his eyes are seeing before him, he runs towards the entrance of the cemetery, but suddenly trips and fell into a deep, empty ditch.

All of them spoke in unison with an eerie and haunting tone in their heavy voices, "It's your fault that we're dead Thomas! You should have died with us! You should be in Hell burning in ash! Not living while we lay dead in our graves."

"Please, have mercy on my soul! I've done no wrong to you all!" Thomas said pleadingly with tears in his eyes.

"You lead us to our deaths and you will pay the consequences for your actions." The rest of the undead men said in unison. They then each grabbed a shovel and started to fill the ditch for Thomas to be buried under. Thomas then screamed in terror and fear as he could feel his ears, mouth and nostrils being filled by dirt while noticing the ditch getting more and more complete.

**(End of dream sequence)**

* * *

**9:15 AM, 1112 Boulevard Del Perro**

Thomas woke up screaming in worry and soaked in sweat wearing his black shirt and grey sport shorts. He walked out of his bedroom with his head hanging low in a depressed manner. Feeling distraught over the nightmare scenario he had, Tom walks over to his fridge, grabs a six-pack of Pibwasser and takes it over to the living room to drink. He proceeded to turn on the TV, watching an episode of The Underbelly of Paradise with Steve Haines, the host of the show famed FIB agent.

Already two bottles deep, Thomas then began to make crude mockery of Haines and the show itself, calling Haines "a middle aged pussy who can't seem to get a damn date" and the show calling it "a byproduct of Vinewood's shallow greed and carelessness". Near the end of the episode, Thomas is in a drunken stupor about five bottles into his system. In his mind at that point, the only thing he thought about was drinking himself to the bottom of the bottle, wishing to run away from the flashbacks, relieving himself from the damn pain of reliving those accursed memories.

Wanting to drink more to get away from the stress of it all, Thomas got up from his couch and drunkenly walked towards to his fridge for more alcohol. Unfortunately for him, the pack he had drank was his last one. Displeased with the new development, he decided to walk over to the local Rob's Liquor store he visited during the robbery incident. Thomas walked into the store, stumbling as he walked over to the counter where the clerk was.

The clerk, a middle-aged white male with steel green eyes and bushy red hair kept his gaze on Thomas as he got to the counter.

Thomas brought out his wallet and said to the clerk, "Hey wait just one damn minute! What happened to the clerk who used to run this place?" The clerk shook his head at Thomas. "You didn't hear, did you? The guy quit his job after that robbery that occurred last week. Heard that he didn't want his family worrying over him working at a place that could get robbed two or three times a week. Hell, he's disappointed that not one person nearby came to stop those thieves." The clerk said to Thomas with a poignant tone in his voice.

Thomas blurted out to the clerk, "Hey man, listen. I'm sorry about your friend losing his job and all, but shit happens! We all live to see another day and smell the fresh air outside. Anyway, I'm going to need a six pack of Pisswasser and a bottle of The Mount whiskey."

The clerk looked at Thomas and laughed at him after hearing his demands, "First off, dude. I can smell alcohol on your breath. Second of all- It's pretty evident since I saw you not being able to keep your balance and your speech is slurred. Besides, I'm not letting you take off with any alcohol. How many beers have you had?" Thomas answered with a flushed expression, "Um… I'd say about six beers maybe around eight in the morning." The clerk then threw Thomas a shocked look, "Why the fuck would you be drinking six beers in the morning at a time like this? You should be eating breakfast in your home not like this!"

Thomas made a scowl at the clerk as he slammed his fist on the counter, "Look here, you damn jerk! You're not the poor son-of-a-bitch who has to deal with flashbacks and nightmares about your own men dying under your command while everything goes to hell!" At this point, Thomas's voice starts to break with emotion. "Please, I'm begging you. I've had a shitty morning, just please show some mercy on a broken man."

The clerk looked at Thomas with a feeling of pity. He then asked Thomas about what had happened to him that caused his flashbacks and Thomas gave him some details about what he had went through in Baghlan. The clerk spoke to Thomas with complete honesty, "Well, shit. I can see why you're in the state that you are now. PTSD isn't something people don't look into all the time though. Let me be honest with you, being drunk and wallowing in the past isn't going to help you at all, man. The only thing I will tell you to do is to go to this guy I know, Dr. Friedlander. Had a friend of mine who went through a lot of hell, no thanks to his drunk and abusive father. Fortunately, thanks to years of therapy under Friedlander, he's been doing great and is engaged to the love of his life!"

Thomas sarcastically replied back to the clerk, "Yeah, and then they lived happily ever after till they died." The clerk answered in offense, "Jeez dude. Lighten up a little bit. Are you this cynical or something?" Thomas answered back plainly, "Eh. Depends on the context of the conversation or if there's something that I know that isn't real and is an illusion towards itself like fame or politics. Anyway, I should get going. By the way, give me the guy's phone number." Once the clerk gave Tom, Dr. Friedlander's number, he left the store to contact the locally famed therapist.

Once Thomas entered his apartment, he called Dr. Friedlander about a session. Dr. Friedlander picked up from his end and asked, "Hello, this is Dr. Friedlander speaking. How may I help you today?" Thomas answered, "Yes, uh… This is Thomas Marston speaking. I would like to schedule a therapy session with you tomorrow." Dr. Friedlander took a moment to respond to Thomas's request. "Sure, I have no one coming in on that day and since this will be your first, I will do this free of charge. I don't do that a lot, but given your last name being Marston, I will. I still have a copy of "Red Dead" by your ancestor, Jack Marston. He was incredible with his writing and the storytelling is so amazing!"

Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed, "Sure, sure. I'll visit you this Saturday. By the way, where is your place?" Friedlander replied back to Thomas, "It's a grey condo-looking building by the Pacific Bluffs coastline. Well, I hope to see you later. Goodbye, Mr. Marston." Thomas then dropped the call. He found it funny how much Friedlander had praised his ancestor's book. Thomas personally read the book for an English assignment back when he was in high school, but didn't make much of a big deal about it since it was decades old.

Once he arrived back into his apartment, Thomas decided to take a shower given the fact that he had woken up earlier from the nightmare he experienced. He thought to himself as he showered about how life turned out for him before coming to Los Santos. As Thomas looked back, he enjoyed most of his time in Merryweather until the Baghlan incident. Once Thomas called it quits with the agency due to the mishap, he went back to his apartment in Liberty City since it was the place he went to after College to find work and he wanted the feeling that every graduate had once they finished, Independence.

After returning back to LC, he had trouble keeping average "nine to five" jobs due to experiencing some symptoms of PTSD. Being at the end of his rope and left with a few options, he decided to go into mercenary work for various mafia groups and anyone else who could pay, just wanting to make ends meet and putting his veteran skills to use.

Thomas was the type of guy who believed that if you had problems, you'd have to deal with them yourself. Which explains why he never opened up about his disorder to his family and friends, including almost all the new ones he met in Los Santos (save for Mikaela since he saved her from the douche who stole her purse). As for the criminal work he had entangled himself into, he thought of it as "getting ahead of the rat race" since he no longer wanted to be an average American working for greedy corporations wanting to ride on the BAWSAQ. Thomas also found the new business exciting and interesting, meeting people who could either be friends with you played nice or cut off your tongue if you insulted them.

Once he finished taking his trip down memory lane, Thomas looked into the mirror for a quick moment until he noticed the fact that he was growing a stubble around the areas below his chin and around his jaw, leaving him happy since he had not possessed a beard since leaving Liberty City. Afterwards, he went into his bedroom to change into some clothing. He changed into an outfit that comprised of a yellow and black plaid shirt with a long-sleeved white undergarment, faded dark blue jeans, a black fitted flat bill hat with the words "Los Santos" on the front, a pair of blue and white kicks, and black sunglasses.

Thomas thought about telling the others about his condition despite having some doubts about what they would think. He knew calling Mikaela would be useless since he already told her about his condition when he first met her, so she was out of the discussion. He thought of calling Madison, Austin, Shizuka, Miles, Samuel and Jamila to inform them about his PTSD disorder. At first, Thomas refused to call Samuel, since he considered his behavior as "that of a five-star douchebag" since the time when he insulted Shizuka about her stuttering, along with his "English" comment, but reluctantly decided to as he did not want him being left in the dark. Thomas proceeded to call them to his apartment to inform them about his disorder. After calling them he thought to himself, _"It's not easy, but it's now or never. If I'm going to need help, I'll have to be open with the others."_

* * *

**5:00 PM, 1112 Boulevard Del Perro **

Hearing the bell ring, Thomas got up from his couch while watching an episode of "Moorehead Strikes Again" and opens the door for everyone he called up. After Thomas closes his apartment door, Madison was the first to speak up. "So, why did you call us here?" Madison asked. Thomas clasped his hands in stress over how they'd receive what he was about to say, "Okay, guys. I've held this from almost all of you, but here goes nothing. I have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Everyone looked at Thomas as if they saw him in a new light. "I got PTSD when I served in Afghanistan while I was working for Merryweather Security. I don't want to give away the details of what happened, but let's just say things got fucked up during a mission I was performing and I've suffered from it since."

Austin looked at Thomas in surprise and said to him in concern, "Why didn't you tell us this before? We could have gotten you help at best." Thomas then shouted, "I was afraid! I was afraid that you guys would be judgmental about this shit! You don't know what it's like having to see memories of people that you've worked with dying in front of you and you're the only one living out of the rest of them."

Madison got up from one of the couches in the living room and hugged him as she spoke to him in a sincere voice, "I'm sorry that you had to go through that. We'll be here for you." Thomas gave a smile as he said, "Thank You" to her and everyone else. Samuel approached Thomas and sighed, "Look, I know that I've been a complete dick to you and the others, but that doesn't mean I don't have a soul. Tom, I'm sorry that you're going through PTSD. I've read stories that involved people taking their lives because of it. From what I've seen of you in the line of work that all of us do, you're a good man and it would be a shame if you went out like the way those guys did."

"Thanks for that statement, Samuel. I appreciate the comment, but I don't see myself as a perfect saint. Thomas said as he patted Sam on the back.

Shizuka asked Thomas, "So h-how are you g-going to handle y-your PTSD issue?" Thomas replied back, "It's simple, really. I'll be taking therapy sessions." Jamila asked Thomas with a look of confusion on her face, "Wait a minute? Who are you going to take the sessions from?" Thomas responded with a sheepish smile, "Well, I'm taking them from Dr. Friedlander. You know, the famous psychotherapist who's treated a lot of famous celebrities."

Miles was unimpressed with what Thomas said. "Dude, Friedlander is a greedy bastard who doesn't care about who he treats. The guy only cares about how much you have in that pocket of yours and would rather jerk off to porn than listen to your issues. I'm sorry about that part, but that's why people like him make Los Santos look shitty to America." He said to Thomas with a dissatisfied look on his face. Thomas wasn't surprised by Sam's response. He had heard the same thing from the clerk he had spoken to earlier and thought to himself to see what Friedlander was made of, if he proved to be what the others put him out to be.

Thomas was about to give a response to Miles' response until he got a phone call from an unknown number. "Wait a minute? Who the hell is calling my number?" Thomas said with a look of confusion on his face. The others simply gave a shrug to his question. He decided to answer the phone just to hear what the person on the other line had to say.

"Hello, this is a courtesy call from Trevor Phillips Industries to tell you that you've messed up, very badly. My boss is very angry, and you would really not like him when he's angry." The man with a quirky and nervous voice said. Thomas's face had an expression of frustration as he heard those words being said to him.

"Alright, I got a couple questions for you. One, how the heck did you get my number? Two, who the hell are you to call me at this time. And last, tell your boss to suck a dick through a gory hole." Thomas said to the unknown caller as he paced across the room.

The caller replied back, "Hang on a moment. My boss said that if you say something like that to him in person or if you say that about him indirectly, he'll make sure to smash your head against a tombstone, put your body in a casket and embalm your corpse in acid." Thomas just had his mouth open as he gave a stare to the others that read "What did I just hear?" as he was still on the line.

"He says that you should come to our HQ in Sandy Shores to explain yourself. He also tells me to tell you that you should bring kneepads and mouthwash, not sure what that means, but I would hurry if I were you, which right now, I'm glad I'm not. By the way, I've sent you a photo of our HQ." The caller informed Thomas as Thomas himself looked at the photo.

Austin abruptly asked Thomas about what happened. "So who was the guy that called you? What did he say?"

"You remember that job from last week that involved us stealing that RV for Gerald and fucking up those hillbillies? The guy who runs the meth lab place is pissed at, well mostly me, along with you guys for interfering with his business. Now he wants me to come over to Sandy Shores to explain myself for what happened." Thomas replied in an annoyed manner. Now everyone else was concerned because something like this never happened to any of them.

"Well, shouldn't we come along with you just for protection? Whoever this guy is does not sound good." Jamila inquired. Some of the others nodded in agreement. Thomas made a gesture with his hands that read "NO" for everyone to see.

"What am I, the president of the United States who needs himself protected 24/7 for the rest of the day? Hell no! I'm going there myself to handle this mess. After all, I dragged you, Madison and Austin into the rest of this shit. And somehow indirectly dragged the others into this, which I apologize for as well. Anyway, I should be on my way right now." Thomas said to the others.

Miles inquired, "Wait, before you go. What are we going to do while you're gone?" Thomas replied, "I don't know. Order some pizza or something. But seriously though, I'm going to leave right now." Once that was over with, Thomas entered his garage and left his apartment in his Gauntlet, ready to confront the drug dealer that wanted to have a word with him.

* * *

**6:00 PM, Sandy Shores**

Thomas drove into the trailer town of Sandy Shores to meet the drug dealer whose business he had "messed up". He drove across the railroad tracks and parked next to the trailer home (which was fenced along with another one) the caller had sent a photo of. Before getting out of the car, he took a breath before going outside to face the guy who wanted to confront.

"_Oh well. I guess it's time to face the music then." _Thomas thought to himself. He walked over towards the door of the trailer home and opened the door. As Thomas walked into the unkempt and dirty inside of the trailer home, a man in his late-40's to mid-50's wearing a cream bucket hat, black glasses, red jacket, white tanktop, khaki shorts, a knee cast on his left leg and a pair of sandals rose up from the couch and alerted the other man in the trailer about Thomas being in the trailer.

"Hey this is… the guy I was talking about." The man said to the other male in the room.

"Yeah, I know who this is Ron, I know who this is." The man said to Ron in a gruff voice. Thomas was thrown aback by this. "Wait, you know my name?" Thomas asked the man.

"Yeah, it's Thomas Marston. And my name of course is Trevor Phillips. But screw the courtesies, just come here. Come here and hold me like you love me." Trevor said as Thomas was slowly walking towards Trevor.

"_Son of a bitch, this guy is all kinds of weird!"_ Thomas thought to himself in a confused manner.

Trevor then covered his crotch as he mentioned that he was getting a semi. He then paced around in anger to Thomas about the situation. "You know why I've been getting a semi, cupcake? Huh? It's not 'cause I wanna fuck you, it's because you have been fucking me!" Trevor shouted as Thomas looked at Trevor like he was put in a mental asylum. Trevor then proceeded to randomly thrust his pelvis towards Thomas as Thomas himself backed away while Trevor shoved Ron after he finished his crude action.

"Now, normally… I have that whole "beggars can't be choosers take anything when it comes to love" type of attitude. But when the love takes the form of someone shitting on my business, I'm not fucking interested! What's your problem huh? Why aren't you scared of me?" Trevor shouted at Thomas.

Thomas made a scowl on his face as he opened his mouth. "Shut up, Trevor! First off all, I understand that you're pissed at me for fucking up your business. I'm sorry about that. My boss, Gerald wanted that RV to enter the meth business since he was already dealing with coke. I just did what was asked of me and I needed the pay. So I gathered a few friends of mine to help me and it was successful. But… never would I imagine being called up by an enraged, meth abusing, drug dealer who lives in a disgusting, shitty trailer and some scrawny excuse of a man who has the voice of an emasculated husband in a horrible marriage! There, are you fuckin' happy now?!"

Trevor walked up very close to Thomas as he gave him a cold stare. "You know, I would kill you right now where I stand… But I can see you have some pretty, hefty balls! Might even have to look at them some other time to see how they compare with mine." Trevor said as Thomas gave off a disgusted look on his face with his hands in his pocket.

"However… You come here after all the trouble you've caused, I want you to get out there right now and start taking care of all those businesses you and your friends fucked over, especially mine! Now get going, get to work." Trevor commanded as he shoved Thomas outside of his trailer. Thomas couldn't believe of what he had gotten himself into. Simply by stealing just one RV from the hands of hillbillies, it resulted into meeting a man like Trevor, who he considers something of a combination of a weirdo and maniac. Feeling tired of what had just occurred, Thomas had decided to leave for his apartment, ready to move on from the meeting he had with Ron and Trevor.

"_Note to self. Never steal an RV from the hands of a meth-smoking maniac or else he'll hump at you and will try to threaten your own life." _Thomas thought in a peeved manner.

* * *

**7:00 PM, 1115 Boulevard Del Perro**

Thomas arrived at his apartment with the intentions of seeing if the others were still in his apartment, doing whatever in his abode. Once he opened the door, he saw everyone still there, albeit eating pizza, fast food courtesy of Up-and-Atom and guzzling soda.

"You guys have been here for an hour while I was gone? And I thought I was a lazy bum during the past four years of High School." A surprised Thomas said.

"Well, you said it yourself before, we could either leave or order something. Also, we invited a couple of friends we knew of and let them stay for a while, but they left a while ago before you came back. Plus, we were waiting for you dude." Miles informed Thomas.

Thomas stretched his arms for a moment while yawning. "Well, that's nice of you guys, but I haven't eaten anything yet so pass me a slice of that pepperoni." He asked of Miles.

Miles then remembered about Thomas mentioning about his trip to Sandy Shores. "Hey so what happened when you went down to Sandy Shores? Who's the drug dealer?" Miles questioned Thomas with a sense of curiosity.

"Oh, you're going to enjoy this. Turns out, the guy's name is Trevor Phillips and he is a complete maniac. He's a guy who has the mind of one of those criminal psychopaths, the mind of a disturbed pervert and has the anger of a raging bull. Anyway, back to what I was saying. He has an associate of his named Ron, who's a complete pussy if I must say so myself and turns out he's been running this meth business called Trevor Phillips Industries in Sandy Shores. And now he wants me, along with you guys to fix the damage we wreaked upon him." Thomas explained to everyone in the room.

"Wow, we really must have fucked up his day then we stole that RV. At least we got paid." Madison included into the conversation.

Thomas sighed as he grabbed another slice. "Hell yeah." Jamila gave her piece into the convo, "Well, whatever he wants you to do from today, just hit us up. He can't be all that bad." Thomas laughed at Jamila's statement. "You might be wrong about that, Jamila. Just wait till you meet him yourself." Jamila laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

The rest of the night from then on was a small party of cable television, fast food, marijuana and good feelings.

* * *

**Hey guys, Tom The Author here. I know the rest of you guys have been waiting for a chapter from me for quite sometime, but I've been experiencing some turmoil in my life recently; I've had some trouble finding a job and there are some personal issues that I've been dealing with for a while. Due to that I wasn't able to fully work on this chapter for a while. I also apologize if it is not up to par with some of the other chapters that I've done before. If there are any inconsistencies, please let me know. I'm not the best writer in the world, so let me know what you want to see more in the story because even I can gloss over some stuff. The final flashback will be shown during Thomas's therapy session with Dr. Friedlander and will reveal what happened in Baghlan. The next chapter will feature the first mission for Trevor, which is known as "Romance Isn't Dead". Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to update some more as time goes on. Peace out.  
**

**-Tom The Author**


	14. Chapter 13-Romance Isn't Dead

Romance Isn't Dead

**Tuesday, 4:30 PM, Del Perro Plaza, Boulevard Del Perro**

Thomas went to the Up-N-Atom restaurant of the Del Perro plaza nearby his apartment for a meal. Once he entered the restaurant, he looked around the place and noticed how the place only had about nine customers eating their meals, which might be over 300 calories given how much stuff a majority of fast-food restaurants add to their foods. Thomas walked up to the counter and approached a female, African-American cashier as the next guy in front of him walked away.

"Hey there, sir! Welcome to Up-N-Atom Burger, how may I take your order?" The cashier asked. Thomas was looking at the menu to see what he could order, but noticed the amount of calories in all the burgers out of concern. Thomas cynically thought to himself, _"Well, this is America where everyone does not give a crap about health unless one-third of the nation is dying of diabetes." _Giving into his reluctance, he decided to order the food since he didn't want to starve.

Thomas answered to the cashier. "Yeah, I've decided to order two Triple Burgers, French Fries and a medium ECola." The cashier demanded, "That will be $10.99, sir." Thomas then paid the cashier for the entire meal as it was given to him. He then went outside to sit where there was a set of tables and chairs outside of the upper entrance on the second deck of the plaza. As he was eating his second triple burger and the last of his French fries, Thomas then remembered about the therapy session he had to attend with Dr. Friedlander. Wanting to waste no time, he threw away the remainder of his meal and ran to his apartment's garage to meet the doctor.

* * *

**4:45 PM, Pacific Bluffs Coastline**

Thomas arrived at the door of Dr. Friedlander's office and proceeded to knock on the Doctor's door since he wanted to be sure that he was there. "Hello, Dr. Friedlander, you there?" Thomas asked. He then heard the doorknob turn as the door opened and there before him stood Dr. Friedlander in a grey sweater, blue jeans, copper slip-ons, and a pair of glasses. Dr. Friedlander shook Thomas' hand as he let him enter his office. Friedlander's office was pretty spacey for a man who's made a lot of success with helping various people. He had a balcony at the back that gives a beautiful view of the beach, a personal small workspace, numerous couches, a bookshelf filled with various books, and a couple of windows around.

"Thomas, how are you today, anything wrong?" Dr. Friendlander inquired.

Thomas shook his head once he heard the question. "Well, I just wanted to talk to you about my experiences. Put all this baggage behind and leave it in a ditch."

"Okay then, have a seat, Thomas. Let's begin our first session together. So tell me why you are here?" Dr. Friedlander said to Thomas.

"Okay. I came to you, Friedlander because of a couple of serious issues I've experienced for over the past couple of years. I've been suffering from PTSD due to an incident that occurred over in Baghlan, Afghanistan when I was serving in Merryweather." Thomas explained to Dr. Friedlander. The therapist then looked at Thomas curiously. "Alright, go on with the story." Dr. Friedlander slowly said to Thomas

Thomas took a breath before he continued from where he left off. "It was about four years ago, I was assigned a mission by my CO at the time to rescue a contact who had important information about the Islamic Front of Afghanistan. The team that I had command over was assigned with another team that was a bit new to Merryweather. After the whole debriefing, we went out to go rescue the contact, but everything went to shit as soon as we left the base."

"Hmm… I'm aware of that terrorist group. I heard about how they've been losing a lot of their leaders recently, along with morale and support in their own ranks. But never mind that. What happened from there, Thomas?" Dr. Friedlander asked him. Thomas then stood up from the couch and went to the balcony for a moment just to calm down as he was experiencing a headache. As he entered in, Thomas said to Dr. Friedlander; "Look, doc. I'm not feeling all that great telling you this, I'm kind of stressed out by this as I've never really been that open to people all my life and I'm starting to get a headache so can I at least lie down for a while?"

"Whatever makes you satisfied, Mr. Marston. I think you might need some medicine though. PTSD does cause episodes like this in everyone who has the disorder. Just breathe in and breathe-" Dr. Friedlander said until he was broken off by Thomas.

Thomas put his hand in the air. "_**Please. **_Just let me rest, on a side note, sometimes when I do sleep, I have these flashbacks or vivid memories of the event that I was talking about." He then rested on the couch as Dr. Friedlander went to the balcony of his work for a drink. As Thomas was resting, he was remembering the final events of what happened four years ago.

* * *

"**Baghlan: Part 3"**

**4:30 PM-Baghlan, Afghanistan**

"**How close are we to the courtyard?" Thomas asked Han, who was driving the Insurgent. The platoon had been driving around a couple of blocks for the past five minutes without any sight of the building where the contact was being held in. "From the GPS, looks like we're less than half a mile out." Han answered. **

**Thomas pulled out a box of Redwood and lit up a cigarette with his lighter. "Yo, Thomas, I don't think you should be smoking that tobacco shit. Haven't you heard about how those things kill you?" Deshawn said to Thomas as he blew out smoke into the air.**

**Thomas said to Deshawn as he put out the cigarette. "I know that, bro. But I don't smoke it all the time or at least most; I'm more of a pot smoker. I just smoke cigs just to calm down or relieve stress. It runs in my family, trust me on that one. What about you guys?" **

**Ricardo raised his hand. "No way, dude. That stuff killed my father when I was fifteen, swore never to touch that shit in my life. My dad tried to quit, but he got stuck to that shit more than his alcohol addiction. So from there on out, I had to provide for my three, younger siblings who are in College and my mom by working random jobs till I signed up for Merryweather."**

**Shawn and Paul looked at each other in surprise as Ricardo had not spoken during the majority of the trip. Jeremiah had a look of confusion as did everyone else. "Hol' up, Ricardo, we never heard you talk the entire time we've been moving about, why now?" Jeremiah asked. **

"**I don't talk much, I like to observe my surroundings and hear what others are saying depending on my interest of the conversation. Besides, tobacco has been killing people for a long time. I'd suggest using those e-cigs those teens are using nowadays. They're a lot safer though, been trending in High Schools for a while. One more thing on a serious note, in case if I do die on this mission, give the rest of my pay to my family. They're going to need it." Ricardo explained. **

**Thomas agreed. "Will do, Diablo. Will do."**

**Once the conversation was over, the platoon had entered into the street where the government building was located. The street they were on comprised of a marketplace, numerous houses and buildings connected by various alleyways making it a game of hide and seek for everyone. The area reminded Thomas of the Brazilian villas he had fought through when he first started in Merryweather.**

**As they went through the middle of the marketplace, Han took a look at the GPS and notified the others. "Listen up, you guys. We are a block away from the place. Given the stakes here, the place should be well guarded at best. However, knowing the streets in this country, there should be hostiles hiding in various houses. So how should we go about this?" Han asked. **

**Thomas spoke up with authority in his voice. "Well, given what we are facing here. I'd say split into two teams to cover more ground and meet at the end of the block. After all, driving through this street would be considered suicide. It's not going to be a walk in the park, there might be proximity mines hidden in various places so we can't take the risk. I'd also advise moving through buildings to move more quickly and do be careful of ambushes and snipers. Komodo, you're in charge of Diablo, Redbone and Smoke. You guys are going back to being Fireteam Delta for now. We guys will be back to our team, Fireteam Charlie. We'll regroup once we reach the end of this block. Keep in contact via earpieces. Everyone clear on their orders?" **

**Everyone else shouted in unison, "Sir, yes sir!" From there on out, everyone departed from the Insurgent to clear of any enemy forces hidden in different houses. As far as condition goes, the houses and buildings were torn up due to the fighting that had been going on in Baghlan. The territory the rest of the guys were in happened to be a small portion of Baghlan that was claimed by IFA. Some of the marketplace had looked like some environmental disaster came through and ruined the place, leaving small venues with ruined goods and destroyed items.**

**Both fireteams split up went into two alleyways not too far of each other and went on to check for any hostiles around the surrounding area. Thomas, Marshall, Shawn and Paul first went through an alleyway that was a little restricted of space no thanks to the close proximity of houses being very close and/or adjacent of each other.**

**They then entered the back of a two-story house which looked pretty decent for the standards of a country like Afghanistan. They went through the kitchen and a small living room, both vacant and having no harm done. Weirded out by this, Thomas signaled his men to follow him and check upstairs to see if there were any hostiles present.**

**With his pump shotgun out, he slowly walked upstairs with caution and entered another living room that had a lot more space than the one downstairs. This one was connected to a balcony and three living quarters. Thomas quietly walked into the balcony and found four militants facing the view of the city, chatting in Arabic. He gathered Shawn, Paul and Marshall to execute them via firing-squad style which they did in quick succession.**

"**Tangos are down. How are your end of things, Delta?" Thomas asked Han. **

"**We're good, took down a couple of hostiles. Currently moving through another alleyway. Komodo out." Han replied back.**

**Fireteam Charlie then moved away from the balcony and went to check the living quarters nearby. Thomas gave the signal for his men to wait nearby the upstairs entrance while he went to check if there were any remaining hostiles nearby. One by one, he checked the rooms and found no one around. Thomas then signaled his men to come to his position.**

"**I'm not liking this. Why are there less of those bastards around here?" Thomas asked in a suspicious tone. **

**Paul sighed. "Well, I suppose they might be hiding in different houses or scouting about. After all, the majority might be in that mansion." **

"**Alright then, we'll have to keep moving." Thomas affirmed. The rest of the fireteam then went downstairs and exited out of the house, moving into another alleyway. As the team walked through the alleyway, a small group of six IFA scouts wearing green and black clothing with plaid scarfs, exited out of a decaying mud house about a couple feet from their location and were walking towards them.**

**Shawn noticing this alerted the others. "Guys, I'm seeing six tangos up ahead. Let's hide against the sides of those two houses opposite of each other, if they come nearby, we'll spring em' into a trap. If not, we keep moving till we meet up with Delta." He advised. Following what Shawn said, everyone hid by the sides. Marshall being at the house on the left took a quick glance and noticed that the six Shawn had mentioned earlier were coming towards their location.**

**Marshall then gave Paul and Thomas (being at the other side), a hand signal to warn him about the militants coming down towards their hiding spot. Thomas then nodded in agreement and gave the same one to Shawn. Wanting to waste no time, they charged in and fired at the militants with their carbine rifles, shooting at them with blind fire. The remaining two wounded militants quickly turned tail and ran off to the house shouting the words, "Merryweather is here!" before Shawn and Paul killed them by shooting rounds into their abdomen various times, and leaving them soaked in their own blood.**

**Thomas radioed Delta after the hostiles were eliminated. "Fireteam Delta, do you copy? This is Fireteam Charlie, the enemy now knows that we're here." **

**Ricardo's voice cracked through the earpiece radio. "Yeah, we just noticed cause' a squad of militants busted through the back of an abandoned home just now and started to fire at us. We've managed to eliminate the enemies. On the move right now, Diablo out." **

**Fireteam Charlie then proceeded to move towards the end of the alleyway till they reached the entrance of a three-story building that was in good condition. Thomas kicked down the door as three IFA fighters in the living room were thrown off-guard by his action. **

**He started to fire rounds at the first militant who was nearby the kitchen and screamed loudly as he was shot, but caught some rounds to the left side of his torso by the second one who was standing next to the TV set nearby him. Fortunately, he was wearing body armor, but could feel the pain of the rounds hitting him.**

**Marshall, Shawn and Paul then entered the building and quickly eliminated the other two militants in execution style. Thomas leaned down and coughed up a bit of blood from the rounds he took.**

"**Damn, that really hurt right there." Thomas said with pain his voice. Paul nodded. "Well, rounds to the armor does hurt like a son of a bitch. Come on, we have to meet up with Delta soon." They moved up to the second floor where there were only four rooms within a large hallway filled with paintings and vases filled with colorful flowers.**

**Suspicious of enemy activity, Thomas took a peak at the first room nearby the stairs. Lucky for him, there was one guy dressed in tan and black clothing with him looking out of the window with a sniper rifle. He quietly moved in towards the man and slit his throat with blood leaking out as the man gasped for air. He then ordered the others to check the remaining room in case of any hostiles being present. His suspicions turned out to be accurate as there were two guys in the rooms Shawn and Paul checked out, but none turned up for Marshall.**

**Once they made it to the third floor, a duo of IFA militants came out of a room to their left and started to shoot at them, but their attempts were futile as Shawn and Marshall shot at them in point-blank range to their heads with their pump shotguns, leaving a bloody mess to both their skulls with brain splatter and pieces of bone on the floor. Suddenly, another duo of hostiles rushed out a room on the far and started firing at the team with sawed-off shotguns.**

**Marshall was the first to bare the blast of the shotgun and fell down to the floor from the hostile nearby the room, who was then killed by Thomas with his Carbine Rifle, aiming the weapon at the lower half of his torso and leaned back once he was caught in his fire. Shawn and Paul dispatched the other one at the same time, firing rounds into his body, leaving no chance for survival. **

**Thomas picked up Marshall from the ground, checking his condition. "Rascal, you alright?" Thomas asked. Marshall groaned. "Holy hell, those shotguns do pack a punch. One more hit like that and I'm bloody done for, mate!" Shawn then added his piece to the conversation. "Hey guys, less talking and more chances of surviving in a place where a bunch of terrorists want us dead." The rest of the team then moved to another hallway seeking for a way to get to the rooftop. As they moved through the middle of the hallway, a trio of militants carrying AK-47's came out of a room to the left and started to fire blindly at them. **

**Thomas hid behind a thin wall nearby where he was standing while the others took cover opposite of his position; the militants went back into the room and took cover behind a large dining table they knocked down. Thomas started to cook a grenade for a moment then threw it towards the place where the militants were taking cover and exploded, capturing them in the blast radius as they screamed in agony.**

**After the rest were eliminated, Thomas and the rest of the fireteam moved to the last room on the right and found a large pile of rubble in the middle of the room which led to the top of the bulding's rooftop. When they got on the rooftop, six militants spotted them from a small makeshift bunker on a rooftop of a building opposite where the others were and started firing. Under fire, the rest moved towards another bunker nearby their position. **

**Marshall aimed down at a balding man with a long, black beard RPG and shot at his head, leaving chunks of his flesh falling to the ground, a nasty exit wound at the back of his head and causing him to fire his rocket up in the air. Shawn and Paul fired at two masked men in black clothing and shot rounds from their Carbines, dropping both of them quickly while Thomas fired his grenade launcher at the remaining three, causing their bodies to fly away due to the momentum of the blast.**

"**I think that's the last of those bastards for now. I'm going to contact Delta, see if they're in the clear. Delta, do you read me?" Thomas said. **

**Han's voice cracked over the com, "Yeah, Blackwater, we read you loud and clear. We're at the end of the block, facing a house with a green shaft on the top. Sending you our coordinates on your GPS radar. See you soon, Komodo out." Han informed Thomas. Thomas turned around to the others, informing them of the new development.**

"**Alright, they're less than a mile out, I have their coordinates on radar. We should be able to meet up with them I'd say less than five." Thomas bluntly stated to the others. Everyone else nodded and left for Fireteam Delta's location for the rendezvous.**

_**(Five Minutes Later…)**_

**Thomas and the others approached the house Han had mentioned to Thomas over the radio. Han, Deshawn, Ricardo and Jeremiah came out of the building and greeted them as they came outside. **

"**Alright, so what's the sit-rep right now?" Jeremiah asked Thomas. **

"**We move in to the courtyard where those IFA dicks are holding Faheem immediately. We are pretty close to his position, it's only a couple houses away." Thomas informed everyone. He then pointed at Ricardo to bring out a map of the surrounding area. **

"**The only way we'll have to get to him is by moving down the street, go down the alleyway on the right and reach the entrance of the courtyard, get Faheem and call for evac to Flying Eagle." Thomas said.**

"**Commander Adams, this is Blackwater here. We're nearby Faheem's position; can you give us an estimate of what we're facing up against?" Thomas inquired.**

"**Well, from the data we're reading; you guys are facing about 40+ foot-mobiles in the courtyard and a couple MG gunners with some snipers. The whole place is fortified with bunkers and stuff, so I'd advise moving ASAP before those IFA men either kill Faheem or move him to a different location since he's a high-priority case. That's all I can tell you guys right now, Adams out." Commander Adams replied as he cut the chatter.**

**Thomas squeezed the bridge of his nose after hearing the news given to him. The thought of them going against 40 or more men was practically a rescue mission gone to complete the gates of hell. He just hoped in his mind that he and the entire team could make it out alive and rescue Faheem. If not, he would never be able to fully forgive himself for leading his own men into a horrible situation.**

"**Alright, we're going up against 40 or more men out there in the courtyard where they are holding our guy, along with a couple MG gunners and snipers. I know what we're doing is considered suicidal, but we have a job to do and also this will give us a good payroll after this. All I want you guys to do is to cover each other and take out any hostiles, is that clear?" Thomas said to everyone.**

"**Yes, sir!" everyone shouted. The platoon then moved down the street and made their way down to the alleyway which led to the courtyard where Faheem was being held. Nearing the end of the alleyway, Thomas then spotted two guards standing in front of the courtyard entrance and gave a hand signal for the rest to stop in their tracks. "Shawn, Paul, snuff the lives out of those two." Thomas commanded to the both of them. Both nodded and brought out their sniper rifles and aimed down at the heads of the two guards, sniping their heads off clean with their bodies dropping to the ground. With that obstacle taken care of, the platoon ran towards the doors of the courtyard. **

"**Guys, take cover. I'm going to set the C4 charges to the door!" Thomas shouted to the members of the platoon. Everyone stood back a couple feet as Thomas held the device that would cause the C4 to explode. "Three, two, one!" Thomas said as he pressed the button, causing the C4 to blast through the door and charged in with everyone following suit, ready to rescue Faheem from the clutches of IFA's hands.**

**(Flashback ends)**

* * *

**5:15 PM, Pacific Bluffs Coastline (present-day)**

Thomas woke up in the same couch he slept on as he stretched out his muscles. Dr. Friedlander came out of the restroom with a triple X-rated magazine in his hand and noticed Thomas being awake. He tossed away the magazine on a couch nearby him and walked over to where Thomas was sitting and sat nearby him. "Wow, Thomas. For a moment I thought you were going into a coma with the amount of time you were sleeping." Dr. Friedlander stated to Thomas.

Thomas replied, "Uh, hello, Doctor? I was having a headache, not only that, but I had another flashback about my time in Baghlan. I've got to say, I think I'm making progress here." Dr. Friedlander nodded at Thomas in response.

He then cleared his throat for a moment and patted Thomas on the back. "That's good to hear, Thomas. Glad to hear that from you. You know, progress is key to keep moving in the world in order to get ahead. Speaking of progress, you'll have to pay me a total of $2,500 dollars if you want to continue our session together."

Thomas stood up from the couch in anger and pointed his finger. "What the hell is this crap I'm hearing?! Why in God's name would I have to pay 2.5 K for something as small as this?" Thomas said, seething with anger and annoyance. Dr. Friedlander put his hands up in alarm with a scared expression. "Whoa, whoa! Calm down, this is a tough economy, you know how it's been since 2008! People are trying to make ends meet in this city."

Thomas then thought back about what Miles said to him about Friedlander, but couldn't disagree with what Friedlander just told him. He knew that he was in the crime game just to secure him a good future with any money he received, but also enjoyed the thrill of it all. He mentally cursed at the air over the entire issue since he did not want to pay such a hefty fine for a service to help patients in need.

Tired of it all, he drew out his wallet out of his pocket and threw down the money on the table. "You know what, here's your goddamn money! My friend was right, you are a greedy excuse of a therapist. Maybe what you need is a self-checkup, you little bitch. I may be involved in some work you wouldn't be too pleased to hear trying to make ends meet, but at least I recognize what's real and what's fake. Have a nice day, jerkoff!" Leaving Friedlander to his own stutter, Thomas then stormed out of his office and took off in his gauntlet. While driving back to his apartment on the highway, he received a text from Ron, the man who had contacted him yesterday on behalf of Trevor. It read in the following statement:

"_Hi there. This ain't strictly business, but it'll keep Trevor happy, and that's good for everyone, right? Now, he wants one of those Lost MC vans - something to do with his friend Ashley, and making it rock to torment her fella... I don't know. Can you take one and bring it to the trailer. R. Jakowski. P.S, I'd advise using silenced weapons for this and go at nighttime, makes it easier on you._"

"_Wow, that's going to cause a lot of issues between both sides. I'd like to see where this goes." _ Thomas thought as he made a right turn to Bay Area Incline off the highway. He then parked his car in front of his apartment and messaged Mikaela, Shizuka, and Samuel for Ron's job, courtesy of Trevor Phillips. He messaged them about the details of the job and to meet in front of the Ammu-Nation store at the Vinewood Plaza within an hour an hour or less.

"Well, let's just pray and hope Trevor is pleased with this one." Thomas said to himself. Afterwards, he went into his apartment to change and rest in.

**6:15 PM, Ammu-Nation, Vinewood Plaza**

Thomas woke up from his rest and changed into a pair of ranch blue jeans, brown boots, a black leather jacket with a white shirt and tan-tinted white aviators. He then walked out of his apartment and left for the Ammu-Nation store in Vinewood. Twenty minutes later, he drove into the parking lot with Mikaela, Shizuka and Samuel waiting in front of the store on their phones. They looked as Thomas parked his Gauntlet nearby the entrance.

"Thomas, you're here! So anything we gotta do before we go over to Stab City, home of the Lost." Samuel asked. Thomas was surprised by Sam's mention of the Sandy Shoes hideout of The Lost.

"How do you know where it is? Let me guess, Underbelly of Paradise?" Thomas inquired to Samuel. Samuel then nodded his head towards his question, but then Shizuka interrupted. "So are we here to talk a-about r-random shit like H-High S-School geeks or go on a-a j-job some nutcase wants us to do?" Thomas and Samuel then awkwardly walked into the store with his hands inside his pockets. Entering the store, he set his sights on a sniper rifle, and an AP pistol. Everyone else got the same weaponry and applied suppressors for the job. With that task out of the way, they left the store for Stab City with all of them leaving in Mikaela's Premier.

* * *

**7:00 PM, Stab City, Sandy Shores**

The team drove into the outskirts of Stab City, which was just a run-down trailer park full of meth-addicted and alcoholic bikers either killing anyone who set foot into their territory or minding their own business. The place was also filled with ruined shacks and clothing lines hanging around various areas of the trailer park. As they went up to the vantage point on a small hill nearby, Mikaela looked around the trailer park with her suppressed sniper rifle, disgusted with what she saw. "This place could use one hell of a cleanup, how do the Lost live in this dump?"

"It's pretty obvious their Methamphetamine addiction may have helped with that. You think any sane biker would live there?!" Sam replied back. Thomas then interrupted their talk with a "Shush!" wanting to focus on the targets with Shizuka.

Thomas and Shizuka both scoped through their sniper rifles and picked off two, white, bald-headed Lost members standing nearby the left side of the trailer park with their sniper rifles. Thomas then scoped through his rifle and noticed that there was only one man nearby the first Gang Burrito "Lost" van at the far Northwestern side of Stab City, five Lost bikers nearby another trailer with the second van and four others standing next to a trailer nearby where they all parked their vehicles. He then gave a smirk to the others after his little inspection.

"Great news, all we have to do is sneak around the left side of the trailer park, take out the two men standing nearby the van and get the hell out of there. Is that agreeable to all of you?" Thomas said to everyone. Samuel disagreed with his notion. "Hold on, shouldn't we like watch our vehicles while one of us gets the van? If they spot Mikaela's car and my bike, we'll have to go loud then." Thomas then looked over to the trailer where the same four bikers were and noticed they were still talking. "Don't worry Sam, they're still talking. But yeah, I'll go and get the van, you guys be my guardian angels in the meantime."

Thomas left the vantage point to sneak around the ruined parts of the trailer park in silent motion, taking step after step in order not to alert the other bikers about his location. Close to the spot where the van was, Thomas peeked behind a dumpster and saw a brown-haired Lost member with torn black jeans, a sleeveless T-shirt with the Lost emblem and a spiked bracelet standing next to the van, facing the opposite side of Stab City.

"_This is going to be a piece a cake."_ Thomas thought as he smirked. He then removed himself out of his hiding spot, loaded his suppressed pistol and shot the man at the back of his skull, shouting a small "Ugh" as he dropped to the ground dead. Thomas quickly ran up to the van and broke the Driver's window with his elbow, entered the van and hotwired the van. He then spoke on the earpiece. "Alright, I have the van." Thomas confirmed to the others. Shizuka, on the other hand, noticed three bikers crossing over the bridge nearby Stab City. "Hey Thomas, I-I'd advise g-getting the hell o-out of there right n-now! Three bikers are nearby the entrance of the trailer park."

Thomas quickly changed gears and reversed the Van out of its spot, but unfortunately for him, the five bikers nearby spotted the Van leaving and shouted warnings about the black Gang Burrito leaving. The others noticing this, got in their vehicles and left to cover Thomas as he got out of Stab City, crossing the bridge into the road leading to Sandy Shores. Now they had a trio of pissed-off bikers chasing after them. Samuel, sitting at the back of the Premier, turned around and fired rounds at the two bikers riding on the right of the bikers in the middle. The biker driving caught seven rounds to his abdomen, losing control of his bike, then crashed into a ditch nearby a gas station, knocking both his companion and himself into unconsciousness. Samuel laughed at his successful attempt at dispatching them. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! Got those bastards!" Mikaela interrupted his moment of glory. "Hey, Sammy Boy. Don't get too cocky. We still got three more chasing us down."

Meanwhile, Shizuka sitting in the passenger side of Mikaela's car, blindly dumped rounds at the three bikers following them, only hitting the second biker with the passenger, causing him to crash against a short railing and flying in mid-air being out of commission. As for the lone biker, he started to fire rounds from his Heavy Pistol at the back of Mikaela's Premier, shattering the glass and alerting everyone to duck down.

"Shizuka, hold the wheel. I'm taking this son of a bitch out, I paid good money for this shit. That dick ain't getting away with this. Pass me my gun at the glove compartment." Mikaela said with contempt. Shizuka did exactly as she said as Mikaela slid down her window, turned around and fired three bullets at the biker, dropping him off the bike and falling on the gravel road, choking on his own blood. She then high-fived Shizuka with a smirk and patted her as Shizuka gave a blush on her cheeks.

"Hell yeah, we beat those Lost bastards!" Sam explained with a fist in the air.

"Mission accomplished, my friends! Now I just have to deliver this to Trevor real quick." Thomas anxiously said as he neared Trevor's home. Shortly thereafter, he parked the Gang Burrito in Trevor's garage and got out of the van. Everyone else arrived just as Trevor walked in between them.

"Thank you, thank you all! Ya know, I thought you guys were going to be some pathetic Millenial shitheads with no sense of what to do when someone orders them to do something, but you didn't go down that route! For a moment, I thought of taking you guys up to the mountains for a little trip if you all failed me on bringing a van for Ashley and me." Trevor said as he laughed, leaving the others feeling uncomfortable.

"So about the van, why do you really need it?" Mikaela asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Well, I'm glad you asked, my beautiful, Mulatto friend." Trevor said he patted Mikaela on her cheeks, leaving her both disturbed and confused. He then continued on. "Here's the thing, when you're a meth dealer in a place like Sandy Shores, there are some benefits when it comes to dealing. This girl, Ashley is pretty hung up on Meth, so in exchange for some speed, she gives me her pussy for my little Johnson to enjoy for about ten minutes or more." Trevor explained while the rest awkwardly listened to his explanation.

Thomas quickly got out of his shock and waved his hands. "Okay, we've heard everything that we needed to hear. Thank you, Trevor for sharing that experience. By the way, what about our payment?" Trevor spun around and shouted. "Ron! What about their payment?!" Ron came out of the trailer, walked nervously to Trevor and handed him four envelopes which Trevor then snatched out of his hand. "Just l-letting you know, that's a total of $11,200 dollars right there." Ron noted to Trevor before leaving to head back into the trailer.

Thomas then shook hands with Trevor. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Trevor. We might have gotten off a bad start, but I can tell this will be the beginning of something good."

"We'll we aren't exactly all 'buddy-buddy', yet Tommy. But at least you and your friends are starting to prove your worth here at Trevor Phillips Industries. If you know any more people, just gimme a call or something. And don't forget to call to tell me how much you love and adore my own being." Trevor said with a creppy smile, giving off a weird vibe to Thomas and his friends. After that, they left Trevor's home and went their way back to Los Santos. But they were already delving into their own conversation about a certain someone while on the highway.

"I've got to say, that Trevor has the creepiest vibe I've ever gotten off of anyone, yet he's interesting as a person. How does a guy like that able to keep a viable criminal business like that?" Sam asked in his confusion. Thomas turned to Sam and nodded. "I have no idea, but I don't think he's all screws loose. Dude obviously has some sense of the world around him, but is pretty insane and friggin' violent."

Shizuka threw in her own two cents into the convo. "I'm not sure w-whether to feel s-sorry or not for Ashley s-since she is an m-methhead, but why the fuck would she sell her own pussy out for some meth? S-Shit like that doesn't send a g-good message to w-women out there. Just shows t-them to be shallow w-whores and used like s-sex dolls only t-teenage virgins would use!"

"True, true. Trust me, there are worse people in Los Santos." Mikaela added. Samuel disagreed. "I respect what you just said, but at the same time, there are people out who are just as messed up as Trevor. At least, he's not fully insane." Thomas made a sound of agreement with that. Thomas then remembered the time when they went on their first mission when Sam got kicked in the groin by Shizuka. "Ya know, I'm surprised the three of you are getting along so well after the last mission we went on." Thomas noted. Mikaela replied back to his comment. "Well, when you start hanging around people you see on a daily basis, hang out with them and get to know them better as a person, you tend to let bygones be bygones. And if not, then you cut off the rope that tied the both of you together."

"Definitely would agree. S-Samuel told us about the h-heist he went on when he was 23, which t-turned out bad. Only him and t-two others survived, while four of his associates died at the hands of the police. I r-related to it somewhat s-since... I lost my now-d-dead girlfriend about e-eight years ago in a plane i-incident. *voice starts to break* She's the reason why I took up piloting, to r-remember her for the good memories we both had. Everytime I fly, I still think of her with a good memory." Shizuka said with a pang in her voice.

"Damn, I'm sorry to hear that." Thomas said. Shizuka answered back with a laugh. "No, it's alright. At least I have you guys and others."

An hour later, Mikaela parked her car beside the road nearby a Los Santos Customs shop on Popular Street, La Mesa. "Sorry, guys but I have to go and fix my car right now no thanks to the shattered windows and bullet holes caused by the asshole biker from before." Mikaela said in an apologetic tone.

"Nah, it's alright. We'll just call a cab to drop us off at the Vinewood Plaza." Thomas said, giving a smile to Mikaela. Afterwards, Mikaela departed while Samuel, Thomas and Shizuka hailed down a taxi cab driving down their side of the street. They then departed for the Vinewood Plaza, pleased with the way the job was handled.

* * *

**Alright, so that's Chapter 14 for you guys. Sorry about being gone for over a month. I've had to put the story on hiatus due to writer's block. If any of you are asking who the "Ricardo" dude is, I mentioned him in Chapter 10, but completely forgot to include him in Chapter 11. I've decided to leave the flashback as a cliffhanger instead of a complete one just to hype y'all up for it. Trust me, it will get dramatic for the final one. With Trevor, I tried my best to bring out some of his personality and I wondered what the others would think of him, so I wanted to give you all some insight of what they thought about him as a person. For the mission, I wanted to show more dialogue, especially with Mikaela, Shizuka and Samuel considering the last mission they were on which didn't get them on good terms, so I wanted to show some positivity and emotion for them. **

**As for Chapter 15, I will start working on it tomorrow since I've had to revise this one multiple times. I will say working on this flashback scene wasn't easy on my brain, so I took a short break from the chapter just to get an idea of how I wanted it to be. I'm pretty proud of this one though. Chapter 15 will introduce an OC named Francisco Moreno from Native Guns (Sorry, dude. I'm more accustomed to that name, not holding anything against you.) and will be laid back. As for the future of this story as whole, I will be starting College in two weeks, so expect longer updates, but I will have more time on the weekends to work on more chapters. So just be glad about that. I'd also like to mention that my story has gotten 1.8K views as of late July so I would like to thank all the people who've been reading this far. Thank you all, until next time-Tom The Author**


	15. Chapter 14-The Commute

**"Chapter 14-The Commute"**

**Monday, 9:30 AM, 1115 Boulevard Del Perro**

A week has passed since the first mission Thomas performed on behalf of Trevor. Since then, Thomas and the gang have been performing numerous missions for Lamar, Simeon, Trevor and Gerald. There were news reports such gas tankers being stolen on the GOH and Little Seoul; Vagos being killed in La Mesa and Rancho, reducing their numbers; Expensive cars being repo'd from the hands of rich entrepreneurs and young playboys; And The Lost MC being strung out due to recent events of Crystal Meth being stolen from them.

It is Sunday morning in Los Santos, where traffic is less active than usual, nine-to-five workers are driving to their jobs with the daily commute, hipsters and non-hipsters walking the streets of LS either taking photos of people's car without their permission, window shopping nearby your nearest clothing store or stopping for a moment to smoke tobacco or marijuana, your pick. In the midst of it all, Thomas is still sound asleep in his Del Perro apartment, recalling his final flashback into his upsetting past in Baghlan.

**"Baghlan: Part 4"**

**It seemed that time slowed down for Thomas as he and the others started to fire at two four-man squads of IFA fighters in front of the entrance of a mud house once the blast from the explosives was starting to clear. The courtyard that the team was raiding happened to be an abandoned residence of a wealthy, extended family in Baghlan. However, when the battle had started between Merryweather and the Islamic Front of Afghanistan, IFA fighters had stormed into the courtyard and killed all of the people who lived there. Once that was done, they started using the place as a base of operations.**

**The platoon moved from the entrance of the courtyard, went through a passageway to an open space filled with various items and vehicles such as wooden crates, ammunition boxes and two supply trucks. To their far right was one of the smaller buildings. At the end of the area is one of the alleged buildings where Faheem was being held. The supply trucks were parked in the middle of the space between Thomas' platoon and the building. Everyone then ran towards a set of crates nearby one of the supply trucks. Shawn noticed a small, one-story house with a balcony capable of being a "nest" for a sniper. **

"**Hey, Blackwater, Wilbur and I are going to the house nearby to pick off a couple of tangos. We'll need some covering fire if we're going to need some distraction." Shawn said to Thomas in a whisper. **

**Thomas gave a thumbs up to Shawn, who then signaled Paul to head inside the house with him and cover the others. **

"**Everyone, lay down some covering fire at the men at the second floor of the building not too far from us." Thomas commanded.**

**Just as Thomas finished saying his command, the other soldiers started firing with their M4's at the fighters on the second floor windows. As Shawn was occupied sniping off some targets, Paul looked on with an alert look on his face as he spotted a large group of ten plus hostiles coming out of a passage nearby the building at the end of the courtyard area they were in.**

"**Blackwater, watch your twelve o'clock! 10 or more hostiles moving in towards your position and the others." Shawn warned to Thomas.**

"**Shit! Everyone move to where the ammo crates and supply truck are." Thomas said, pointing towards the place to seek cover.**

**Thomas and the others who were with him moved to the ammo crates for cover. The hostiles started to fire at their position, pinning them down. Thomas and the others, on the other hand, blindly fired at the hostiles, only killing about six of the hostiles sent after them while both Shawn and Paul sniped off the rest. As Paul sniped off the last of the hostiles, he froze with wide eyes as he paid attention to five IFA fighters wearing black clothing with wrapped black scarves around their heads, kneeling down on the rooftop of the building at the end of the area, with one in the middle carrying an RPG, ready to unleash havoc on everyone on the ground. Meanwhile, a team of seven started to rush through the passage and head towards the rest of the ground team. **

"**Get out of there, one of them is carrying an RPG!" Paul warned over the comlink to the ground team. **

"**Orville, we're fuckin' pinned down over here. We have seven of em' storming nearby our position!" Thomas said as he fired rounds into the abdomen of an IFA fighter carrying an AK-47, his body falling to the ground, leaking out blood.**

"**Screw that, you got a guy on the damn rooftop with a RPG, ready to aim this moment and you guys are nearby a supply truck. That's a recipe for disaster right there!" Paul argued. **

"**Damn it! Alright, everyone move this instant right now. We got an RPG user on the rooftop and he's ready to shoot this… OH SHIT, Run!" Thomas shouted at the top of his lungs as he and the others saw the rocket being fired from the rooftop. **

**Thomas and Marshall sprinted quickly towards the former hiding spot they once were, at the same time dodging gunfire from enemy forces. The remainder of the ground team ran too late as they were being overrun by enemy forces. Death's hands already had claimed the lives of Han, Jermaine, Deshawn and Ricardo as they had noticed too late about the rocket landing between their position and the supply truck, which went off in a loud bang, taking them out in the process.**

"**AHHH! You motherfuckers, how dare you?!" Thomas shouted in fury. He then reloaded his M4 Carbine Rifle with an extended clip and fired at the man with the RPG, bursting eight rounds into the man's abdomen, causing him to fall from the rooftop as he screamed to his death.**

"**Come on, kill me why don't you? I'll bury you fucks in the damn dirt!" Thomas said in furious, flashing anger. He then proceeded to eliminate the men on the rooftop, aiming at them one by one. Marshall eliminated the rest of the reinforcements by throwing a flashbang; while blinded by the flash, Marshall fired at them all execution style.**

**Shawn and Paul exited out of the house they were in and noticed the bloodied and damaged bodies of Han, Ricardo, Deshawn and Jermaine with Thomas kneeling on the ground weeping as Marshall sat down, with a downcast expression on his face. They both looked at each other knowing full well of what just occurred.**

"**It's my damn fucking fault. If I had told them not to move over there, they would be alive right now, not looking like this!" Thomas said in a mournful and regretful tone. **

"**Thomas, you didn't know what would eventually happen. Not one single person out of all of us saw that shit coming. No one has a third eye in this world. Look, you shouldn't blame yourself for this at all." Paul replied.**

"**We'll have to report this to Merryweather Command. I don't know what they'll do with their payroll, but one thing's for sure is that we have a search and rescue to complete. We're going to make them pay for this." Shawn noted.**

**Thomas was still weeping until Marshall grabbed him by the shoulders with a stern look. "Hey, look at me, Blackwater. I know you're saddened by all of this. Believe me when I say that my heart is shedding tears of sadness despite it may not seem like it. Look, those guys wouldn't want us to be weeping over them till kingdom come, so please gather yourself together!"**

**Thomas wiped the tears off his cheeks and took a moment to gather his composure given the priority of the mission. "Sure, grieving will have to wait for now. Gather any ammo you can, then move out. Wilbur, update Command about the recent incident." Thomas ordered, his expression being worn out, weary and tired.**

**In his mind, Thomas was condemning himself for not being able to save the others' lives and wasn't feeling too confident about the mission now that they've lost half of their team. On the other hand, he wanted to avenge their deaths by killing the rest of them, feeling that no one single IFA fighter should live while having taken the lives of his men. Not wanting to wallow in grief for too long as he knew it would have to wait for a later time, he gathered some ammo for his M4, pump-action shotgun and stocked up about four grenades and flash bangs.**

"**Search for Faheem, top to bottom. Leave no room unchecked in that building. We can't afford to lose him to those pricks or else they'll take him away or might even kill him." Thomas said to the rest of the fireteam. They entered the first floor of the building, intending to check any room where Faheem was being kept. Thomas walked towards the hallway to his left, made a left turn and found two rooms to his right, both of which were empty and contained no sight of Faheem. As for the others, they checked the remaining rooms and found no sign of Faheem. **

"**He's not in any of the rooms here. Let's check second floor." Thomas said.**

"**Aye, Captain." Shawn said with an imitation of a pirate's voice. They then moved upstairs to the second floor which led to another hallway. The fireteam made their way upstairs and moved towards the middle of the passage to enter the living room which contained furniture, a TV set and various items. All of them were against the walls next to the door, ready to check who was inside.**

"**Wilbur, get the door." Thomas commanded. Paul did as Thomas said and kicked down the door. His action alerted about five IFA fighters as Thomas, Marshall and Shawn rushed in and fired at them all before they could pull their triggers. They check around the surroundings of the room, but found no sign of Faheem. "Check the other rooms, watch out for any hostiles." Thomas ordered. The rest of the team then went to search around the other rooms for Faheem. Unfortunately, they couldn't find Faheem in any of the rooms, save for two hostiles Shawn and Paul came across while checking the last room. Thomas was getting worried about the progress of the mission. First off, he had just lost half of his platoon to a gruesome death. Now, he and the others had not yet found their contact in the building they were in. **

"**Damn it! No sign of Faheem so far. I do not like this crap. Let's pray we find this guy or else we'll find a dead corpse in this building." Marshall said with frustration in his voice. Paul agreed with Marshall's motion. "Well, we'd better get on the move then." Paul stated. The fireteam then went upstairs to the third floor with Marshall in front of them. Once Marshall made it to the top of the stairs, he made a turn towards the hallway until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach as he noticed a dagger being stuck in him at the hands of an IFA fighter wearing a tight black mask and uniform around his face. He then pushed Marshall towards the wall as his body slid down against it. Thomas then fired his SNS pistol at the head of the man who stabbed Marshall, firing at his head, causing some blood and brain matter to splatter across the wall next to him then collapsed with blood leaking out. **

**He then heard voices that were coming from the other end of the passage, supposedly scouting for their fallen comrade. Thomas moved up towards a wall for cover and peeked towards the hallway where he spotted two men dressed in black mask and uniforms walking towards his position. Quickly loading his ammo, he cocked his shotgun and blindly fired at the men three times, falling to the ground as blood leaked out of their abdomens and thighs. Thomas quickly moved back to Marshall's position to check on his current condition.  
**

"**Ah bollocks, that wanker did give me a good stab there… Not feeling so well right now." Marshall said weakly as he coughed up blood. **

"**Here, let me pull out the dagger for you. This will hurt like a son-of-a-bitch though." Thomas said. Marshall nodded as Thomas put his right hand on the dagger where Marshall was stabbed and pulled it out slowly while Marshall screamed in pain. **

"**Wait, do we have any meds at all?" Thomas asked. Shawn bowed his head down in despair. "The only medic on our platoon was Han. If he were alive right now…" Shawn answered with a depressed sigh. "Shit!" Thomas said as he punched the wall with his fist in frustration. He now thought the mission had taken a turn for the worst now that one of their teammates was bleeding out without medical attention and they still haven't found Faheem. "Damn it! First the shotgun blast, now this crap! Guys, I don't think time is on my side. Let's hope we can get out of here on time." Marshall lamented.**

"**Orville, you stay here with Rascal to keep him company. Do whatever you can to treat him. Wilbur, you're coming with me to find Faheem. We'll be damned if we don't find him soon." Thomas ordered. Shawn nodded. "What a wonderful date I'm having with you." Shawn said to Marshall. **

"**Fuck off, mate. I'm not enjoying the pain of it all." Marshall said, scoffing off Shawn's remark. Thomas and Paul moved towards the first room to their right and hid nearby the door. Paul then charged towards the door, bursting through alongside Thomas as they opened fire on five hostiles. Both of them combat-rolled behind an amber couch seeking for protection. Thomas then blindfired his rounds across the room and only hit a thick-haired, long-bearded hostile in the abdomen about ten times. Paul popped out of cover shooting at another one hiding behind the wall next to the kitchen. He fired rounds at the man's right shoulder, tearing through his tendons and muscles, causing him to grasp his shoulder and bleed out in pain. He quickly turned his attention to a 5'6 scarf-masked man whohe immediately shot with his pump shotgun, taking shells around his neck and head, making his death painful as he bled out on the now blood-soaked floor. Paul and Thomas took cover once more as the remaining two hostiles were still shooting by firing blind. **

"**Wilbur, I'm throwing a flashbang across the room." Thomas said. Wilbur responded "Blind those douchebags." Thomas held it for a few moments then threw the grenade over to their side, blinding them as they complained about their loss of sight. With that window open, Thomas and Paul then opened fire at the remaining two insurgents, firing at their abdomens, penetrating some vital organs such as the intestines and stomach, falling down to the floor with their blood leaking out. Thomas and Paul then heard a voice shouting in Arabic and sounded like he was pleading for mercy, so they went towards a room that had a dim light on. Thomas and Paul then knocked down the door and noticed four insurgents surrounding a bearded, thick-haired, beaten and bloodied man in his late 40's tied up on a wooden chair. **

"_**That must be Faheem!"**_** Thomas thought in his mind. He then aimed for the man who was about to shoot Faheem in his head with a SNS pistol. He pulled the trigger, aiming for the man's neck. The bullets went below his Adam's apple, exiting out the back of hit; the assailant shouted in pain, staggered back and fell to the ground, gasping for air, but choked on his blood. Thomas then turned his sights on the next hostile nearby the deceased man he just killed and fired at his lower torso multiple times, dropping to his knees and lying down on the dirty ground.**

**With all hostiles taken care of, Thomas approached Faheem and loosened the man's ropes around his hands and feet, along with removing the white blindfold around his head. Faheem stood up, barely able to walk on his own, having Thomas and Paul catches him as he almost fell down to the ground. They then walked back towards where Marshall and Shawn were**

"**It was horrible; they treated me like I was a poor slave! They whipped, punched and beat me day and night. Thank Allah he gave me strength. I pray to God those IFA devils shall be punished for what they did!" Faheem said in a pained voice.**

"**Damn, just be glad that we saved you. Matter of fact, we're hella happy you're still alive and kickin'. Half-dead, even!" Paul noted. Thomas sighed, just glad Faheem was still conscious. "Cut it, Wilbur. We have to call in evac to get the hell out of here. Remember, we have a mortally wounded operative on our hands who has no medical attention." Thomas said. **

"**Alright, Command this is Fireteam Charlie. We have Faheem in our hands." Wilbur reported.**

"**Good, Charlie. Nearest helicopter should be coming within seven minutes. We're sending you the GPS route to the nearest rendezvous point."The voice over the comlink said.**

"**By the way, bring a small crew of medics. We're going to need one, along with some body bags. Alright, they're coming soon. We just have to leave the courtyard right now." Paul confirmed. Thomas and Shawn were busy helping Marshall to stand up due to his wounded state. "First, let's gather the rest of our fellow operatives' bodies. Orville, go and find any means of transportation so we can leave this damned place." Thomas said. It didn't take long for Shawn to complete Thomas' request for finding a vehicle as he found a white Vapid Guardian around the back of the building. After a five-minute drive from the courtyard to the rendezvous point, which was at the outskirts of the city since the helicopter was going to fly all the way back to Flying Eagle, the same base Thomas, Marshall, Shawn and Paul reside. They got out of the vehicle, rushing to the chopper to treat Marshall and Faheem quickly and went on the way back to Flying Eagle.**

**An African-American medic approached Shawn, Paul and Thomas. "The three of you better come quick to his side. We've done all that we can, but I'm afraid he doesn't have much time on his side. The wounds he received are very fatal and that stab wound went pretty deep into his stomach, so that made his chances of survival lower than it already was. I'd suggest saying some final words to him right now." The nurse informed them solemnly. Thomas and the others thought he just felt his entire body go numb when the medic finished his sentence. The three of them then went over to Marshall's side, ready to say their final goodbyes.**

"**Shawn, Paul. Remember when we were at the base arguing about my position on the Middle East?" Marshall weakly stated. Both of the brothers nodded with weak, saddened smiles on their faces. **

"**Well, I did some soul searching within myself and I thought that not all Arabs are evil. I mean look at Faheem. The guy got treated miserably by those IFA bastards like he lived in the home of a damn slave owner. Seeing him in that condition made me reflect back on my prejudice towards the Arabic people. So before I reach Heaven's gates, I'd like to say I'm sorry. This is practically my way of making amends before I go." Marshall said. **

"**We forgive you, Marsh. It's been nice fighting by you. We'll see you on the other side, old friend." Shawn said in between sniffles of tears. "Thank you, Marsh. We'll remember you, at least we got to say goodbye to one of our own." Paul said. Thomas moved to Marshall's side next**

"**So this is how it ends, huh? We did our job, but lost some good men." Thomas lamented with tears in his eyes.**

"**Don't be a wimp, Tommy Boy. Look, I knew from the moment I got hit by that shotgun blast that there would be a fifty-fifty chance I'd survive. However, the stab wound seems to speak for itself on that situation." Marshall grimly noted. **

"**And I can see your sense of humor is still intact." Thomas noted. Marshall laughed in reaction to Thomas' comment before continuing where he left off. "Look, Thomas. I understand your pain about what went down over there. I'm already dying right now, so I beg of you and the others this one thing. Please keep living your lives, don't throw in the gutter! Just… do that to honor me… and the others…"Marshall said before he gave up the ghost, the heart monitor went off, making a whining sound. A nurse then covered Marshall's body over a white sheet as Thomas, Shawn and Paul bowed their heads in grief and sadness over losing Marshall, now another victim of the operation they had risked their lives to give. **

"_**If this is what it's like to lose someone that's worked with you time and time again, then I don't want this at all. This isn't what I wanted at all. I can't continue this anymore…"**_** Thomas thought to himself, unable to cope with the loss of losing a majority of his team. The rest of the trip was spent in mourning until they landed at the base an hour later. **

**(flashback ends)**

**11:30 AM, 1115 Boulevard Del Perro**

Two hours later, Thomas woke up from the flashback-like dream he had just experienced for the past two hours. He then thought back to the request Marshall made before he had passed away two years ago.

"_**Please keep living your lives, don't throw it away in the gutter!" **_The words echoed in Thomas' head, thinking that he heard Marshall's rough, English voice for a moment in the air.

"_**Have I truly moved on from it all? It's been two years and still no change… I'm sorry Marsh, I guess I haven't lived up to your promise."**_ Thomas reflected in his mind. Within the walls of his mind, Thomas knew he came down here to start anew, but questioned if he had accepted what had occurred in Baghlan. After what happened in Baghlan, Thomas, Shawn and Paul resigned from Merryweather Security a week after, unable to continue to serve the private military group after the Baghlan incident. He reflected on what happened to Shawn and Paul since they went on their separate ways. As far as his memory served him correctly, both the brothers wound up in a mental hospital suffering from severe PTSD a few weeks after the search and rescue mission in Baghlan.

While Thomas had resigned the day after the incident due to symptoms of PTSD and remembering flashbacks, Shawn and Paul still fought for Merryweather, hoping to continue fighting in the memory of their fallen comrades. Unfortunately, they were survivors of a helicopter crash caused by IFA insurgents and were tortured by them for two days until a fireteam of U.S Marines rescued them. However, the extent of their torture was so severe, that the both of them were kept in a mental hospital until they were fit to be welcome back into American society.

Thomas suddenly remembered about the therapy session he had with Dr. Friedlander. He recalled the way he reacted towards him over the dispute about the payment he had to make towards Friedlander. Reflecting back on the event when he shouted at Friedlander for the amount of money he himself had to pay in order to continue the session, he realized in his own embarrassment on how irrational he acted towards Friedlander. He had to admit, being angry towards your own shrink for a payment of 2,500 dollars sounds kind of petty once you look back and realize how much of an asshole you'd look. To make amends, Thomas decided to call Dr. Friendlander to apologize.

Thomas pulled out his phone and dialed down the doctor's number on his iFruit phone and pressed the call option on it. He waited for a few moments until it went to voicemail. Thomas then made a sigh as he was about to leave a message for Dr. Friedlander.

"Hey, Dr. Friedlander. It's me, Thomas. The guy who berated you for that payment I had to make for the both of us to continue our session? I'm calling to apologize for my behavior last time during our first session. It was irrational, stupid and pretty petty of me. I'm willing to rejoin you on working with me through my therapy session, maybe tomorrow on some other day. Thanks for listening, peace out." Thomas said before ending the voicemail call.

Thomas then went to his bathroom, suddenly remembering the fact that it was late in the morning and had forgotten to shower. Fifteen minutes pass by and he changed into one of his most casual setups: a white hoodie with a grey shirt that has the words "Cerveza Barracho", named for the Beer Company, khaki cargo pants, orange and blue sports shoes and black sunglasses, courtesy of the brand company known as Stank.

Feeling the need to clear his mind after the flashback he had, Thomas decided to go out for a drive. So he went down to his garage and entered his Bravado Gauntlet. However to his misfortune, Thomas noticed the car's fuel tank being on low as the symbol flashed on his dashboard. Due to this impediment, he went out to the gas station off the intersection between the Del Perro Highway and West Eclipse Boulevard.

**Seven Minutes Later…**

Thomas rolled into the gas station and parked next to an empty gas pump at the far left of the filling station row. He got out of the car and started to fill his car's gas tank like any average civilian in this city would do. Thomas suddenly felt the urge to smoke, so he pulled out his lighter and Redwood cigarette box out of his pocket and was about to light up until he saw a young, Native American male in his early twenties drive into the gas station in a modified, royal blue Tornado, the rear top on and windows rolled down, blasting the song "Low Rider" by War while parking the Tornado next to Thomas.

"Hey, mi compadre, is that your Gauntlet right there? I've heard about these babies before. Pretty good on speed, but bad on the spins. Confident that my Tornado can wipe the streets against your Gauntlet. I can certainly guarantee it!" The man said in a strong Mexican accent. Thomas lit up his cigarette and inhaled some of the smoke before blowing it out of his lungs. "Hey man, don't get too cocky with your words. Those Tornados suck huge balls like a bitch. The only thing it's good for is speed, looking like an 80's car and that's it. Shit doesn't work well when riding uphill. Go back to living in your fantasy world!" Thomas bragged to the man.

"Oh, so you feel that way, huh amigo? Alright then, let's have a race to prove who has the fastest whip between the both of us. Winner get $7,500 dollars, loser get $5,400 dollars. Small amount for a two-person race, but fair don't you think?" The young man inquired. "I'll have to call up a good friend of mine who hasn't heard from me for a long time. We'll do it on the highway nearby all the way to the bridge that connects to the Elysian Fields Highway. Meet nearby the parking spot at 10:30 PM sharp." The young, man informed Thomas.

"That's it, you're definitely on! Make sure that your bank account is loaded with greenbacks by the time I win that race. By the way, what's your name?" Thomas inquired. The man replied back as he got back into his Tornado, "Francisco Moreno, but I also go by Pancho. What's yours, amigo?" The young man said. "The name's Thomas Marston." Thomas answered. Pancho shook hands with Thomas. "Alright then, Thomas. Can't wait for you to inhale the smoke from my screeching tires." After the trash talk exchange, both of them left the gas station in their cars, eagerly antipating what was to come.

"_This is going to be quite interesting. Wait a minute… I should go to Los Santos Customs for my ride!"_ Thomas thought to himself as he drove back to his Del Perro apartment. He immediately changed his GPS route to the nearest repair/mod shop in the city as he arrived at a stoplight. Meanwhile, Pancho was driving back to his home in Pancho and called up Han, the mechanic who ran the Los Santos Customs shop nearby the airport who garnered a reputation in the streets of Los Santos of fixing and modifying cars as well as arranging street races, races that were labeled as illegal in the United States.

"Hao! My favorite mechanic in Los Santos! It's been a hell of a long time!" Francisco asked. "Pancho! What a surprise! It's been two years since I last heard from you. What the hell happened?" Han inquired of Francisco.

Francisco made a scoff over the phone before he answered. "Hey dude, I'm currently under parole right now for car theft. I was performing a task for a shady boss of mine named Simeon, stole a silver Jackal from one of those Vinewood directors, who supposedly owed debt to Simeon. Got chased by cops until a cop car rammed into me from the side; causing me to crash into a ditch. So I got booked for two years. Now, I got the pigs keeping watch over me so that way I don't fuck up or else I'll be sent back to Bolingbrook, dealing with rapists and fuckin' molesters."

"Goddamn… Shit, two years for that?! I've known Korean gang members who've done more time for smuggling cars into different countries! Never mind that, what's the call for? Lay it down on me." Hao said.

"Well, I've got a puto who talked some smack about my Tornado, so I was wondering if you could arrange a 10PM race between me and this guy. I pray the cops don't get involved. You know how many people have been arrested _and_ convicted for street racing? No way in hell I'm going back!" Francisco said. "Well, to that end, I had to pay off the cops not to get involved in this. You know how greedy the blue pigs are in this city. Anyway, I'll arrange the race for y'all." Han replied.

"Well, this _is _Los Santos, the city of saints and diablos. But thanks Han, I owe you one." Francisco said as he dropped the call. Pancho then drove into his garage next to his house and exited himself out of his Tornado. He made a smirk as he looked on at the tool shed, ready to fix up his car. _"Alright, Marston. Within a couple hours, you'll see who's got the faster car…"_

**10:00 PM, Parking lot off Interstate 2/Del Perro Freeway**

The nighttime in Los Santos usually meant a couple things if someone happens to be a resident in the city, People were either enjoying their lives in some random nightclub getting wasted or faded from alcohol or drugs; Some men were out on the streets within their cars waiting for the nearest prostitute to employ her "services", only to either get killed her client or be videotaped with her client by some random pedestrian, ready to unleash yet another sexual act on the internet; And traffic would usually be less congested than during the daytime since there were less people trying to get to their jobs. This would also give street racers a chance to avoid cops since most were active during the daytime, but others would still patrol the streets and highway in case of any criminal activity.

This was one of those cases. Thomas drove up into the parking lot nearby the beach and off the Del Perro Freeway aka Interstate 2 with his newly-modified Bravado Gauntlet. He had the mechanic install race brakes, a Class 3 Engine, a new transmission, had the car's suspension lowered a bit and installed nitrous into his muscle car. He parked his car nearby the entrance of the parking lot next to Francisco's Tornado. He got out of the car as he walked over Francisco, who was standing next to the passenger side of his car smoking a cigarette.

"Hey! Hey! Thomas, so are you to settle this once and for all?" Francisco asked him as he gave Thomas a handshake. "I've prepared myself for this occasion. I've gotten my car modified for this occasion and in case if I get into any trouble with the law." Thomas said to Francisco. "Funny enough cause' I did the same thing to my Tornado, personally modified it out. Wait a minute… Hao's here!" Francisco noted as he saw Hao's modified orange and black Maibatsu Penumbra drive up in front of them. Hao exited out of his car wearing his usual attire of a black tanktop alongside an Asian-American girl in her early-twenties sporting bangs, wearing a white midriff with torn jean shorts and brown boots.

Hao approached Francisco as they both hugged each other, then turned to Thomas as they both grasped hands. "So this is the guy you're challenging? You seem to be a cool dude, not like how Pancho here described you. What's your name, man?" Thomas answered with a smile, "Oh really? Well, I guess his ass was wrong about me. The name's Thomas Marston, and you must be Hao." Hao nodded his head in return and responded back, "Yes, indeed. This beautiful dime next to me is Wendy; she'll be the one who will give the signal to start the race." Wendy made a blushing gesture towards Hao and giggled a bit. "Aww, Hao. No need to be so modest. I'm only here to give em' the go and look good while doing it. By the way, you still need to fix my Futo like you promised. I need it for a job interview for LifeInvader tomorrow." Hao patted her shoulder as a sign of comfort. "Sure. Sure, Wendy. I will just as soon these two guys right here get the adrenaline and dopamine out of their system." Hao said to Wendy.

He then continued on, "Alright, here's how the race is going to work out. You'll be racing down from here, past the underpass not too far here, then you'll make a turn to the first entry ramp on your right, keep driving across till you meet a curve which will lead to the highway, **but **stay on the same lane or whatever cause it will lead to another shortcut to the highway, then just keep driving and maneuvering your way past traffic on the La Puerta Freeway, cross the Miriam Turner Overpass, which will lead to the end of the bridge. That's where the race will end. We clear on that?" Hao questioned to the both of them. They both nodded their heads in response to Hao's question.

"Okay! Let's get this started. Both of you, get in your cars, get on the road and lie in wait next to each other while Wendy here will give the signal for both of y'all to take off. One more thing, put your phones on speaker to communicate." Han commanded. Thomas and Francisco ran towards both their cars, igniting their engines and drove out of the parking lot to park next to each other on the freeway lanes. Wendy then got in the middle of the road and stood in front of the drivers. Both Thomas and Francisco gave each other a determined stare in their glistening eyes before paying their attention back to the road and Wendy, who was ready to give them the signal.

"Ready… Set… GO!" Wendy said as she rose down both her arms in the air as the signal for the race to begin. Both Thomas and Francisco pressed on the pedals of the cars, causing their wheels to move with fast friction. Thomas was the first to accelerate thanks to the modified engine of his Gauntlet which allowed him to gather speed within less than six seconds on the clock. Francisco was a few feet behind him, but managed to catch up by following his path.

"No way in hell are you overtaking me! I've come too far for this shit." Thomas blurted over his speaker. He then switched to the right lane, pressing on his gas pedal again to pick up more speed as they both drove into the underpass which has three lanes for drivers to switch onto. Francisco, still on the right lane, changed from his lane to the middle, avoiding a Dominator from ruining the front bumper of his Tornado. Thomas still pressing on the pedal, moved from the middle to his right due to a black tow truck in front of him. Francisco quickly switched lanes again, following Thomas in order to get ahead of him. This worked to his advantage just as they both exited out of the underpass. He drove to his left and pressed on the pedal once more, boosting his acceleration a couple of feet ahead of Thomas's Gauntlet.

"Look at me now, amigo!" Francisco bragged over his phone. Thomas responded by flipping him off with his middle finger which Francisco saw over his mirror since he was still not too far from Thomas. Francisco and Thomas then drove onto the entry ramp to their right which connected to the other part of the freeway. Desperate to pass his rival, Thomas pressed on his car's gas pedal once more, passing Francisco's Tornado which was losing some of its speed no thanks to the disadvantage of the car slowing down while driving uphill.

"Well it looks like someone's moving slow like a snail. Pick up the pace, buddy!" Thomas said as he laughed. Francisco honked his horn in frustration three times and cursed under his breath. Thomas drove across the street over to the next exit, entering the La Puerta freeway. Thomas continued to drive on the lane until he met a curve next to another exit, both of which would eventually merge into a rear exit allowing drivers to enter the La Puerta Freeway. Refusing to lose his current streak, he drifted the curve, but overdid it by applying the brakes too late, leaving a dent on his driver's side and a now-shattered window once it hit the wall, giving Francisco a fighting chance once again. "Now the tables have turned. What did I say earlier about Gauntlets, my amigo? I think somewhere along the lines of "spinning out", I presume?" Francisco openly bragged, leaving insult for injury towards Thomas. Thomas immediately pressed on the Gauntlet's gas pedal once again, hoping to catch up to Francisco. By this point, Francisco was already in the lead, less than a mile ahead of Thomas and already entered another exit ramp, and that development further irritated Thomas.

"_Come on, baby. Don't let me down!"_ Thomas thought in his head. At this time, he had entered the same exit ramp Francisco had gone through. He maneuvered past no less than six vehicles as he switched lanes, finally staying on the left. As he exited out of the ramp, Thomas looked from his windshield and could still see Francisco driving on the road, nearing the end of the La Puerta Freeway. Determined to catch up to him, Thomas utilized his nitrous boost, gaining speed as he smoothly drove past traffic with relative ease. His strategy paid off well as he entered the Miriam Turner Overpass with Francisco still in the lead. Luckily for him, he was nearing Pancho's position as he was moving halfway uphill on the overpass, but was being slowed down by congested traffic, narrowly damaging his car.

In his mind, Thomas knew the only way he could pass Francisco to ensure his victory was to perform the method of slipstreaming, which allows one person to move at a comparable speed towards the other they are following due to the relativity of the ambient fluid the object is moving. He waited for four minutes dodging the flow of traffic until he could perform the move.

Once the both of them exited out of the overpass, Thomas finally caught up to Francisco, who was on the left lane once he got in the clear and followed him. Francisco tersely shouted, "Hey, Thomas. Quit following my tail, it's getting quite annoying!" Thomas made a cocky smirk towards as he took the opportunity to pass Francisco as his Gauntlet's acceleration increased.

"Pancho, you can smoke my engine fumes once I'm done beating your ass!" Thomas said to Francisco. Francisco scoffed off at his remark, "Hermano, don't get too cocky. You don't want this work at all!" Thomas entered the arch bridge between the overpass and the Elysian Fields Freeway, still leaving Francisco in the dust, yet to enter the arch bridge. Refusing to lose, Francisco used the last of his nitrous to catch up to Thomas while dodging traffic as he entered the arch bridge. He finally managed to reach where Thomas was currently driving as they were speeding down the arch bridge. Francisco followed Thomas' trail like a predator chasing his prey in the wild, ready to strike when the moment is right. Thomas tried to shake Francisco off by turning lane to lane while swerving away traffic. A Korean driver in a white Baller SUV rear-ended Thomas as he attempted to make a right turn.

"Whoa! What the…!" Thomas shouted as he lost control of his Gauntlet, spinning a few feet away from where he formally was. Francisco reflexed just in time to dodge the mess of it all, pressing on the brakes and quickly switched lanes in a passive manner. "Mother Mary, Thomas! That's some bad luck right there. Goddamn…" Francisco said as he neared the end of the bridge. "Tell me about it." Thomas said with an irritated look on his face. Thomas then switched his shift stick to reverse, backed up carefully and put it on drive, continuing his end of the race. Once he crossed the end of the apex bridge, Thomas went off the main road of the Elysian Fields Freeway to a small, narrow road nearby the now-defunct oil fields of East Los Santos, where Francisco was waiting for him. He drove up behind Francisco's royal blue Tornado which barely had a scratch on its entire body while Thomas' Gauntlet had a medium-sized dent to his driver's side, a broken taillight and his driver's window gone from hitting the wall around the submerged exit from before. Thomas overheard Francisco leaving Hao a message about the race before he got out of his car.

Thomas walked up to Francisco as they both shook hands and patted his back as a sign of sportsmanship. He made a chuckle and a smirk over the rear-end incident, "I could have won if the prick in the damn Baller didn't rear-end my car. Luck may have saved you this time, but I'll be prepared for the next race." Francisco nodded, "Alright then, Thomas. I will do the same then." Thomas pulled out a lighter and a box of Redwood Cigarettes as he pulled out his second cigarette of the day and lit it up, putting the cigarette in his mouth and took a smoke. "Hey, I never got to learn much about you despite our dispute from before. Can you give me a background, maybe?" Francisco gazed upon the starry sky in all its wonder for a moment before he started to explain. "Okay. Well, I was born in Senora, Mexico, worked with the Mexican Cartels for a couple of years until I turned to the Zapatistas after all the bullshit the cartels were pulling." Thomas had a look of surprise on his face, "Wait… You used to work for _**the **_Mexican Cartels?! I've heard some nasty stuff about them on the news before. About how they've been running the drug trade for many years and the way they treat their own countrymen by slaughtering or using them to push products across the U.S. Not only that, I've heard rumors that some government officials are taking bribes or dealing with the Mexican Cartels."

Francisco nodded, his face betraying no emotion over what Thomas had just mentioned. "Those fucking putos think they can run the whole entire country when really they're running Mexico to the fucking ground! The country, the people who live in it are suffering because of their greed and selfishness by moving drugs in and out of Mexico to various places, particularly the United States. They have never known what it's like to be at the bottom of the barrel and being fed a bunch of bullshit! They're responsible for a lot of stuff, some of which I have some personal issues that need some attending to…" Francisco ranted before taking a deep breath as he paced around for a couple moments. He continued on, "I'm sorry, this… this entire thing is messed up. My past is something that I don't like to dwell upon sometimes cause' of the cartels." Thomas replied back, "It's alright. I understand where you're coming from. I have some stuff from my past that I have to confront myself. Pushing that aside, what do you do here in LS?"

Francisco answered, "Well, I work for this guy, Ortega. He runs the Varrios Los Aztecas set out in Blaine County. Works with this weird, speed-abusing Canadian gringo named Trevor Philips who runs some arms-and-guns business called "T.P.I" out in Blaine County. How do I know him? Well, he and Ortega have a partnership that's been running smoothly for some time."

Thomas looked at Francisco in surprise, "Hey! I work for Trevor Phillips! Well, only as a mercenary for his business. I don't want to go into the full detail on how I met him. Trust me, it's one long, complicated, fuck-up of a story." Thomas took a smoke for a moment before he could continue. "Hey, how about you hook me up with this Ortega guy? Maybe do a couple jobs for him here and there." Francisco rubbed his chin for what seemed to be a few seconds, "Alright, I'll give him the word though. By the way, what's it like working for Trevor?" Francisco inquired of Thomas.

"Ahh, working for Trevor does have its benefits. I get paid a good amount of money despite finding him either using Meth or shouting down at his assistant, Ron." Thomas plainly replied. He continued on, "I'll put in your name for Trevor. Anyway, can you give me your number? I have to go to Los Santos Customs to fix my Gauntlet here since it looks like crap at the moment." Francisco gave a nod as both he and Thomas traded back numbers. After the exchange, the both of them went their separate ways for the rest of the night, joining the rest of the Los Santos commute as it neared midnight.

* * *

**Hey guys, it's Tom The Author here. (For anyone whose already read this chapter around the time I published it, please read down here.) So this chapter has officially marked the possible end of Thomas' Baghlan flashback with Merryweather. I spent a lot of time putting work into the flashback in order for it to leave an impact on everyone who survived and if you've finished reading it, then you've seen the end results. This chapter serves as the introduction of Native Guns' OC named Francisco Moreno, so I hope you guys will like him. The next chapter will feature Dr. Friedlander in a therapy session with Thomas which will show a discussion of what happened after Baghlan. I am also planning on introducing Lester Crest into the next chapter as he is an important character in the GTA Online/V universe and plays a prominent role in Online. If you have any ideas for the next chapter, I'm all ears. Another thing I'm considering is killing off a couple of OC's in the near-future. If you don't want to see this happen, let me know via PM or anonymous reviews. I'm also considering changing the name of this story to "GTA Online: Los Santos Stories" since I feel the current title no longer fits where the story is right now.  
**

**As for whether or not, I release another FanFic story. I've been thinking of doing a Star Wars FanFic story for quite sometime and I have a few ideas in mind. One rotates around an AU if Biggs Darklighter had survived the Death Star Attack, another about a Jedi surviving Order 66, The Great Jedi Purge and joining the Rebellion; Another deals with the story around Star Wars Galaxies and the last one which I think is controversial would be my take on what happened before Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens, but I'm thinking of throwing that one in the towel since there's only a couple months before the film finally comes out.**

**One more thing I would like to address. To the reviewer known as "Moonman of White Topia", get the hell out of FanFiction. We don't need someone like you taking up all the oxygen in the world being inhaled by the likes of you. All you've done is simply spew racist remarks towards me and a couple other authors of different minorities who've received spammed racist reviews. I know you are friends with one author whose name will not be mentioned as this author deserves no attention. You and your friend need to go ahead and re-evaluate your lives because such hatred is only for people who hate themselves deep down and will try to divert their hate towards people who don't deserve such. May God help your lost souls. As for those who've given support, God bless you all. **


	16. Chapter 15- Therapy and New Associates

Therapy, Lester and Ortega

**Tuesday, 1:30 PM, Pacific Bluffs Coastline**

Thomas, wearing a casual attire of a red polo shirt, black jeans and blue sport shoes with white stripes, knocked on the door of Dr. Friedlander, checking to see if the locally-famous psychologist of was at his office. He went to Friedlander's office this afternoon after receiving a phone call from him an hour ago, saying how he wanted to continue the sessions with Thomas after what happened last time and accepted his apology, noting that he did so in the heat of the moment. He heard the sound of the door handle twist and turn as the door slowly opened to reveal Dr. Friedlander, wearing a sky blue polo shirt worn over a grey sweater, black work pants and brown oxfords.

"Thomas, I'm so glad to see this afternoon. Shall we begin the session?" Dr. Friedlander asked of Thomas as they both entered Friedlander's office. Both of them proceeded to sit down around the small area of furniture where Friedlander's patients would discuss private topics with one another. "Hey, listen. I'm really glad that we're continuing the session. I've had a lot going on in my life recently, but I just want to continue where we last left off." Thomas said anxiously.

"Alright then, let's begin the session. Let's start off with your experience in Baghlan, Thomas. What was it like going into that situation?" Dr. Friedlander inquired.

Thomas rubbed the palms of his hands against each other before coming to an answer. "Aw man. The mission was supposed to be a simple 'search and rescue', but I didn't expect the whole thing to go further south. The odds were stacked against my team once we entered that courtyard, going to rescue an important contact from IFA's hands. Nearly everyone that I knew on that team was blown to smithereens by a RPG. Not a nice memory to hold for the rest of your life."

Dr. Friedlander leaned back on his brown chair, making an examination on Thomas as he wrote on his pad. "Seeing your teammates die in front of you… That must have messed with your head a lot."

"Oh, definitely it did. It's depressing really. The whole thing drove me to turn to alcohol to deal with the PTSD." Thomas replied back to Dr. Friedlander.

"Drinking is a means of depressing down the issues one has yet to confront in order to escape the harsh reality of it all."

Thomas sighed as he raised his hands in the air. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, Doc. It's just that… I moved down here to move on from my past life and start anew. My friend, Marshall… Before he died on the way back to the base, he wanted me and the survivors to uphold a promise for him. Marsh wanted me to keep on living for my sake, his and everyone else. "

"And have you lived up to his promise, my friend?"

Thomas took a moment to process Friedlander's question, but knew the answer in his head. "Yes and no." Thomas answered, leaving the doctor a bit confused as he scratched his hair. "On one hand, I've indulged in drinking more since I came down here, but the flashbacks were the cause of it all. I used to have vivid short nightmares about what happened, but they haven't occurred for quite some time. But on the other hand, I've made some new friends here and I've really grown to like them. They're pretty amazing and they always have my back when I need it I haven't tied a damn noose to my neck, so maybe there's hope for me after all." Thomas said.

"Well, I'm glad to see some self-admission from you, Thomas. First sign of progress, I'm proud of you. Thinking positively, that's the best way to keep depression at bay! But I must warn you to keep yourself alert if you feel any negativity. Try playing some tennis or meditate by performing some yoga. Unfortunately, that's all the time I have for today. Come back again next time if you need any help." Dr. Friedlander said to Thomas as Thomas went on his way out of the door.

"Hmm… That wasn't bad; I guess I made the wrong assumption about him." Thomas thought in his mind. He then walked over to his Gauntlet and took off on the highway.

* * *

**2:00 PM, Northern Rancho**

Francisco rolled up to the front yard of his house with his Tornado in the Northern part of Rancho, an infamous Hispanic neighborhood known for its high rate of criminal activity, thanks to the Vagos and Varrios Los Aztecas gangs. Francisco drove up to his home on Roy Lowenstein Boulevard with two Azteca members, Arsenio and Little Cesar standing nearby his front yard.

Lil Cesar a.k.a Cesar Sanchez was known for his 5'5 stature, making him less tall than a majority of his fellow Aztecas members. Sanchez has a thick mustache with short sideburns. He had been arrested twice; the first time was for stabbing a drug dealer due to selling him low-grade marijuana for his homies to smoke and the second one was for attempted robbery of the gas station nearby Ballas territory as he failed to rob the store when two Ballas members entered the store, with Uzis pointed at his head. Arsenio Castillo is another member of the Varrios Los Aztecas and has been in the gang for the past two years. Since then, he's been involved in drug deals and gunrunning with his gang, but has a criminal record of a D.U.I and public intoxication, both incidents occurring last year.

"Arsenio, Lil Cesar! Como estais chicos?" Francisco said as he high-fived them.

"**Arsenio, Lil Cesar! How are you guys doing?"**

"We're doing quite alright, amigo. We were going to ask if you wanted to go out to Bishop's Chicken or something." Little Caesar asked Francisco.

"Nah, Lil C, later. I need to call Ortega for someone I met." Francisco replied. Arsenio gave a look of confusion to Francisco. "Well, Pancho. Who's the call for?" Arsenio asked.

"Oh shit. I forgot to tell you guys about this, but it escaped my mind. There's a guy I won a race against this white dude named Thomas. Turns out he wants to work for Ortega. " Francisco added.

"Wait? A gringo wants to work for Ortega? Pancho, I'm not so sure about this, what if he's one of them undercover spooks?" Arsenio said.

"Look, you guys obviously haven't met the man, I have. Thomas himself told me about his work with Trevor and I believe he is telling the truth." Francisco said as he entered his house with Arsenio and Lil' Cesar.

The inside of Francisco's house looked similar to Thomas' apartment except for the fact that the walls have paintings of Yaqui artwork on them such as a painting of a Yaqui elder telling a story to a group of young children sitting down in the midst of a fire, along with the flags of Mexico and America hanging over his TV set.

"Anyway, let me go and make the call. I got a bunch of Pisswasser bottles in the fridge and some Chinese food. You guys can watch some of that so-called American football or soccer." Francisco said as he went over.

"Todavía no entiendo por qué los americanos llaman fútbol 'soccer'. ¿Cuál es el punto de nombrarlo algo más cuando la mayoría del mundo se utiliza el término 'fútbol'?" Lil Cesar questioned.

"**Still don't understand why Americans call football, 'soccer'. What's the point of naming it something else when a majority of the world uses the term, 'football'?" **

Arsenio shrugged with his shoulders as a response. Both Cesar and Arsenio gathered a few beer bottles and went to go sit at Francisco's living room while Francisco made a call to Ortega.

Francisco waited for two minutes till he heard the phone make a beep. "Pancho! My friend! How are you these days?" Ortega said with his fluent English heard over the conversation.

"I'm doing fine, Ortega. Hey, I have a thing to ask of you. There's this white dude I met through a race, Thomas. He works for Trevor Phillips and personally asked if he could perform some jobs for you under freelance terms." Francisco said to Ortega.

"Works for Trevor Phillips, you say? Okay, tell him to meet me at my trailer nearby the Zancudo River, off Joshua Road." Ortega ordered.

"Me aseguraré de informarle. Adiós." Francisco replied back as he dropped the call.

"**I'll make sure to inform him. Goodbye."**

Francisco then went to his living room where Arsenio and Lil Cesar are watching a game of soccer between the Liberty City Cocks and the LS Benders. He went and sat down between the both of them as the first half of the match was still ongoing, ten minutes to be exact.

"So who's scored so far in the game?" Francisco asked both of them.

Arsenio took a gulp of the beer nearby him before he could answer. "Well, the Cocks are giving it to the Benders 1-0. I don't get why they had to give both teams such weird-ass names, though. Who came up with the idea?"

"Probably just a bunch of immature perverts. By the way, what did Ortega say about this Thomas guy?" Lil Cesar said.

Francisco made a smirk to the both of them. "Well, just as my mind predicted. Ortega agreed to it."

"Alright, you won there, Pancho. Let's just hope he can prove himself to Ortega. We all know that he don't take no bullshit from anyone." Arsenio replied back.

All Francisco could do was lay back on the couch and hope that the meeting between Thomas and Ortega would bode well.

* * *

**3:00 PM, Pleasure Pier**

Thomas and Madison drove up in Thomas' Gauntlet to the parking lot west of Pleasure Pier, a place that's been around since the 1920's, attracting a large amount of tourists from various parts of the world and America. Which means taking selfies with the locals and bragging about it on Snapmatic.

"Well, Maddie. Here we are, Pleasure Pier. First time for the both of us. So what ride do you want to do first?" Thomas asked Madison.

"Hmm… I'm thinking the Ferris Whale. I hear that it gives a great view of Los Santos' skyline." Madison said.

"Sure. But I'm thinking of riding the Leviathan. Pretty amazing if you ask me, but let's start with the Leviathan. The Ferris Whale looks like it takes quite a while to finish a spin. I'd rather go for a fast ride rather than spend ten minutes or less being bored out of my mind." Thomas added.

"Can't argue with that statement. So why'd you want to hang out with me? Thought you and the boys were going to the Vanilla Unicorn to see some knockers or go to the cinemas?"

"Well, let's just say plans were changed. Miles fell sick no thanks to some food poisoning at Burger Shot and Austin's busy looking for some new video games for the Exsorbeo 720 and another guitar. Everyone else was busy doing something, so you were my last hope.."

Madison gave a smile to Thomas as she laughed a little. "Well, I'm glad to have saved you from boredom. Come on, let's go enjoy ourselves. It will be fun!" They both got out of his car and walked towards the Leviathan. Fortunately, the line was short of ten people since everyone else were either taking photos of the sights around Pleasure Pier, at different booth or were nearby the railings of Del Perro Pier getting a view of the waters nearby.

"So are you ready for this, Maddie? Besides the fact that you have a weak stomach…" Thomas said to Madison.

Madison then playfully shoved Thomas' right shoulder. "Oh shut up, Marston! We'll see who coming out of this without puking on the floor." They then rested their hand on the handle bars of their seats as the conductor finished counting down before the ride could begin. The ride slowly began to move uphill as everyone anticipated what was to come.

"Ready… Set… Go!" Thomas and Madison said in excitement. The Leviathan simply turned into three minutes of fast twists and turns due to its small size. Despite the short length, the ride came to a slow stop, leaving everyone either excited, nauseous, or lightheaded.

Thomas and Madison got out of their roller coaster seat, except for the fact that Madison seemed to be somewhat nauseated.

"Aw shit, why did I have to eat a spicy burrito and chili fries from Taco Bomb before you even called me? Where's the trash can?" Madison said albeit in a weak voice as she gripped her stomach. She then ran down to the exit nearby and hurled by the trash can. Thomas just looked on with an embarrassing look on his face. "Didn't you mention about fast food and roller coasters being a bad mix together?"

"In my defense, I was lost in the moment a while ago. Plus, it's been weeks since that conversation! However, what just happened did remind of that mission we did for Simeon, hijacking those two high-end vehicles." Madison admitted.

"Yeah, it really does. Wait, do you still want to ride on the Whale, get a meal or something?" Thomas replied. Madison replied in a friendly manner, "No thanks, Thomas. I think the Ferris Whale might have to wait for another day." Thomas gave a nod to Madison. As they were walking back to his Gauntlet, Thomas heard his phone make a loud ring in his pocket. He took out his iFruit phone and accepted the call as he recognized it as an unknown number.

"Hello, who is this?" Thomas questioned.

A quirky voice answered. "Hey there. You don't know me, but, I, err, know you."

Thomas made a confused look on his face. Despite his annoyance, he knew where this was going.

"How do you know my name?" Thomas asked the unknown caller.

"Your name keeps popping up all over every police report and gangster's bleet I'm reading. You've been making something of a name for yourself in our pleasant community of reprobates." The caller informed Thomas.

Thomas ran his hands through his slick, black hair in worry about who was keeping watch over all of the jobs he and the others had committed within the past couple of weeks. If one thing's for sure, he knew it would have to be the FIB keeping track of their actions. "Well, shit. Just when things were looking up, now I've got to keep my head down." Thomas complained, not pleased with the new information the caller had told him.

"Well, my friend, that's the power of the Internet nowadays. Shit gets out real quick like bacteria, y'know? They just keep on multiplying and multiplying, suddenly it spreads like damn crazy. Anyway, I have some business opportunities I'd like to discuss with you. If you're interested, swing by my house in Murrieta Heights… oh and come alone. Please." The caller informed Thomas. Then the call was suddenly dropped.

Madison gave Thomas a confused look as they entered the car. "So mind telling me what just happened?"

Thomas made a sigh as he turned on the engine. "Apparently, there's this guy out here who's heard of the exploits we've committed over the past couple of weeks. He wants me to meet him at his house in Murrieta Heights alone. "

Thomas and Madison were now exiting out of Del Perro Pier, entering Bay City Avenue into the middle-class neighborhood of Vespucci.

"Seems this guy means business. If he said that your name is the talk of the town, then I'd assume me and the others are involved in their gossip as well." Madison added as Thomas made a left turn towards Vespucci Boulevard.

Thomas made a nod to Madison. "Nothing we can do about it. All we can do is hope something good comes out of this. By the way, where's your apartment?"

"Oh, just keep going down the road. It's 2087 Vespucci Boulevard." Madison noted. A few moments later, the both of them arrive in front of Madison's apartment.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for the outing, I really enjoyed it. I wish we could've done more if I didn't eat that Taco Bomb shit. Also, call me after you're done talking to our friend who was on the phone. I'd like to know what the hell he wants from all of us." Madison said before giving Thomas a small pat on his shoulder. She then got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of her apartment while Thomas left Little Seoul to meet with Lester.

* * *

**3:40 PM, Lester's House, Murrieta Heights**

Thomas approached near Lester's house for the first meeting between the both of them. He then parked his car opposite of Lester's house, then proceeded to exit out of his Gauntlet and walked his way to Lester's front door. The first thing he noticed was a sign to his left that read, "Beware of Dog", numerous fences around the perimeter of the house and the windows being covered up with newspapers, had bars on the outside, or were shut from the inside.

"Someone doesn't like being seen by everyone from the outside." Thomas muttered to himself. As he approached the door, he noticed a security camera to his upper right watching him. He hears the same voice that he heard over the phone say the words, "I was wondering when you'd show up". Thomas then walked into the very small hallway of Lester's home lit by a small, shining light; He then paid attention to the piles of boxes, newpapers and decoded files neatly stacked nearby the walls, some of which were on a shelf. He then made a quick turn to Lester's workroom/bedroom which looked similar to what he just saw except for the action figures, computers, shelves and the TV screen that laid in front of his bed, alongside an iFruit laptop laying on the bedcovers.

He then notices a short, fat middle-aged, light brown-haired man with glasses in a wheelchair typing up something in front of his computer, whom he deduced was Lester. Thomas approached Lester as Lester himself turned around his wheelchair to greet Thomas.

"Welcome to paradise… if your idea of paradise is a place where a sick creepy vouyeur can spy on anyone in the country with total impunity. Actually, I guess that kind of is the American dream" Lester said with a small laugh.

Thomas looked around the room for a moment. "Not my idea of paradise to be honest. Besides, there are other ways of achieving that dream. Although… I'd say some would disagree given the current hardships of this country."

"Can't disagree with that. Anyway, uh, I digress. You have made a big name for yourself and that name is Dangerous Idiot who is waiting to get robbed. So do yourself a favor and put some of that not-so-hard-earned-money into real estate." Lester said.

"For the record, I already have an apartment in Del Perro. It's a low-end one, but I'm only staying there for a while."

Lester gave a nod to Thomas. "Well, that's nice to hear. But I'd rather you get yourself a high-end apartment in the future for bigger jobs. And by bigger, I mean heists a.k.a the sort of job that garner you and a crew large amounts of cash as you feel the adrenaline flowing through your veins as you rob a bank filled with glorious amounts of money. Unfortunately, that will have to come at a later time since you'll have to prove your worth over time by performing some missions for me."

"Alright, I get the idea. Also, how much of stuff do you know about me? Cause' some of it _is _classified." Thomas said as he stroked his chin fuzz.

Lester gave a chuckle to Thomas after his inquiry. "Oh, you mean your documented, two-year history with Merryweather Security? The security and paramilitary company that recently got cleared to operate on American soil which is run by Don Perceval? Yes, and I'm also aware of a classified mission in 2011 involving a rescue of an informant which resulted into the five-eighths casualties of your team, save for two others and yourself included. I've even heard of the fact that you used to work for the infamous Kenny Petrovic back in LC. Any more questions, Thomas?"

Thomas could only respond with a surprised look on his face. "You definitely know what you're doing. You're like a living database, y'know. By the way, what's your name? You obviously know mine from the database, but I like getting to know my employers."

"Well, thanks for the compliment and the name's Lester Crest, best hacker in the West Coast. Anyway, there's already people who will want to rob ya and soon enough, they'll be who will wanna kill ya. If anyone gets particularly fresh, give me a shout. I can put a bounty on em' and every whack job in the state will want to get em' off their back for ya. Of course, you never know. Maybe someone asked me to do it to you." Lester said with a chuckle as Thomas made an unimpressed face towards his flat joke, then proceeded to leave Lester's house.

"Well, that was awkward."Lester said to himself in a flat voice. As Thomas walked out of the front door, he received a message from Francisco that read: _"Hey, Thomas. Just letting you know that Ortega has agreed to let you work for him, but he wants to meet you in person. He lives nearby the Zancudo River off Joshua Road. I've sent a photo of his trailer to your phone."_ The photo shown below is a image of a white and green trailer that looked similar to Trevor's, but only neater and had a large satellite dish on its roof.

Thomas made an exhausted sigh. "I deserve a break one of these days…" He then walked over to his Gauntlet and left for his first meeting with Ortega.

* * *

**4:20 PM, Nearby the Zancudo River, off Joshua Road **

As the song, "What I Got" by Sublime was playing on Vinewood Boulevard Radio, Thomas was approaching nearby Ortega's trailer. He saw a middle-aged Hispanic male with a short, thick mustache walk out of the trailer and waved his arms as he drove close.

"_That must be Ortega." _Thomas thought to himself as he parked next to Ortega's trailer.

"You must be Thomas, the man Francisco was talking about." Ortega said as he shook Thomas's hand.

Thomas nodded in response. "Yeah, it's good to meet you, Ortega. So let's talk business."

"Yes, amigo. So let me explain the whole situation down in Blaine County. Basically, the set that I'm running in this meth-induced county is currently in a war against the Marabunte Grande over who gets the guns and drugs running through Blaine County. Those Mara putos think they're the shit just because they have more territory than we do, claiming that we simply hide behind the Vagos like scared kids behind their parents just cuz' we share Rancho. Not only them, those racist rednecks in Blaine County too! Once we take em' out the picture, they'll see whose varrio rolls deep this side of Blaine County!"

Thomas rubbed his hands on his face for a minute as he was still absorbing all the info he had just heard. "Well, I always had a soft spot for the underdogs. MBG doesn't sound like a good gang to hang around with anyway. Besides, Trevor would have my head if I went up against a fellow associate of his. One thing I want to make clear, I _really _don't want to be involved in any gang activities with the Aztecas. Only under circumstances such as watching over gun and drug deals or if you want me to go fuck up some of them."

"Well I can't blame you. You mercs don't hold much loyalty to the people you work with, only if you hang around your employers for a while and get to know them. Anyway… you'll be paid for your services and let me know if there's anyone else who might need some work. We could use some help against our enemies." Ortega said as Thomas went to his Gauntlet.

Thomas pointed at Ortega before entering his car. "I'll make sure to get the word out. Goodbye, Ortega." Thomas' car drove out back onto the road as Ortega waved goodbye while the sun was still up with the clouds going overcast.

* * *

**Hey, guys. It's Tom The Author here. So anyway, this chapter is the first meeting with Lester and Ortega, so expect more to come in the future chapters. To be honest, I feel like it's a bit lackluster for some of the dialogue, but nothing came to me as I finished it today. One thing I'd like to address is the format of the story so far. I've come to a decision to feature more POV's from the other OC's as to get a sense of who they are as a person and will try my best to capture their personalities. Not only that, but to show more interaction as it is not just about Thomas. **

**I would say that I've been busy with College work, so I'm sorry about the fact that there's no action in this chapter at all. BUT the next one will feature the missions, "Cops Capacity" by Lester and "Lost My Mind" by Trevor. Also, I'm thinking of renaming the story under the name, "Marston and Company", "A Life Worth Living For" or something entirely different. To my readers, just give me any suggestions to a title change as I feel the current one no longer fits the current direction of where the story is going. Anyway, hope you're somewhat satisfied with the new chapter. One more thing, as for the Star Wars story, I might work on it by the next chapter which would mean "HIATUS" for this story. Stay Tuned-Tom The Author.**


	17. Author's Note Chapter

Author's Note Chapter

**As it pains me to inform you all, my fellow readers and reviewers. I've come to a point in time where I've been so impeded by College work (especially with the exam weeks coming within the next three weeks), I've decided to go on _hiatus _for two months or less (can't make any promises at all). I sincerely apologize for not giving you all the next chapter, "Causing Some Ruckus" (currently in the works) which would feature two missions, "Cops Capacity" by Lester and "Lost My Mind" by Trevor.**

**When I came upon the FanFic stories of Grand Theft Auto, I was amazed by how people would bring their characters to life with such emotion and use a great amount of detail in their stories to bring it purpose. I found such stories from authors like "Onkwehonwe" (I'd start off with Ballad of a Cholo and GTA Online, both are really good in their own right, if you're a GTA fan), Zilla 2000 (Who's "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" GTA FanFic story is quite impressive. I honestly wish I could have read it earlier though) and the author known as "An Origami Fish" who has written an impressive Star Wars AU FanFic story known as "A Destiny Altered", revolving on what would've happened if Anakin Solo (son of Han and Leia Solo from the Legends EU, if you're interested into that stuff) had not died during the events of the New Jedi Order series.**

**I'm sorry if this sounds like I've given up, but that isn't the case. I will work on a couple chapters during my temporary absence, but will also deal with the exams from late Nov. to mid-December. However, I will leave reviews for the stories that are my personal favorites, which means I haven't gone ghost yet. So for now, this is a temporary goodbye. –Tom The Author**


	18. Chapter 16-Causing Some Ruckus

**Causing Some Ruckus**

**2:30 PM, Hawick Avenue, Hawick**

_(A month later…)_

Austin, Miles, Francisco and Samuel were driving down Hawick Avenue to get some new clothing from Sub Urban since they heard about some new clothing that was in various brands such as Binco's and Poisonby's. As they were driving in Austin's white Buffalo Bravado, they were having a discussion in the car as the song, "Wet Blanket" by Metz was playing on Vinewood Boulevard Radio.

"So what clothing y'all gonna get?" Francisco asked.

"Me? I'm hoping to get some new cargo pants and some polo shirts." Austin answered.

Sitting behind Austin at the front wheel, Samuel made a scoff at Austin's answer. "Let me guess… clothing that reads 'Nine to Five, tech support at LifeInvader and lives under the basement of my parents?'"

Austin took the time to flip him off in response. "Very funny, Sam. I'd say the same goes for you as well, Mr. 'Former Top 10 Alaskan Snowboarder who could've gone pro.' Get out of here, I see you fuckin' wearing baggy, cargo pants around like its early 2000's all over again. Probably trying to look like a middle-aged Nu-metal fan who is stuck in a time warp. Matter of fact, get yourself some dreadlocks and colored contacts to make yourself sound edgy and hardcore."

"Damn, the two of you argue like a young couple in their mid-20's still arguing about some petty shit. Calm your tits and balls down already. Look, Sam. Let him wear what he wants, man. That sounded pretty petty right there. And Austin, he was trying to be funny, but no need to get that offensive." Miles added.

"I was making a joke at the time, but I didn't consider the fact it would be that bad. Sorry, Austin. But why make mockery of my snowboarding shit? That's not cool, dude." Samuel added as he apologized.

"It's alright, dude. I should've known you were trying to make a joke and I got offended as fuck. It was at the heat of the moment though." Austin added.

"Now kiss and make up like every teen couple does when they fight." Miles humorously stated. They both responded to him by saying the words, "Fuck off, mate."

Austin suddenly switched the radio dial over to Channel X as the song, "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys was playing while as they parked in front of the Sub Urban store.

"Finally, Sub Urban. The one place where us Millennials hang around by smoking marijuana, tobacco or having mindless conversations while being on our phones." Austin said as they got out of his car.

Francisco laughed. "Has anyone told you that you sometimes say cynical stuff that's sounds pretty old, even for a guy like you who's twenty-one years of age?" Austin responded he and the others walked into the store. "Yeah. That's what happens when you're surrounded by bigoted assholes your entire life. I just say shit like that because I find it funny and depressing in a personal manner." Francisco raised his hands, "Hey, more power to you, hombre."

A blonde clerk with green eyes in her early-20's wearing a black scarf around her neck, a brown leather jacket, black and white shirt with stripes and fitted blue jeans greeted them with a wave. "Welcome to Sub Urban, feel free to look around the store for anything that suits you."

"Will do." Samuel replied back to the clerk with a wink.

Samuel found a pair of black jeans and a grey button-up shirt with rolled sleeves which in his eyes, suited his physique well. Francisco found a blue track jacket with vertical orange stripes to both sides; a yellow and black plaid shirt with a white, long-sleeve shirt underneath; brown jeans, along with grey and yellow running shoes. Miles bought himself a pair of slate shoes and a Harsh Souls T-Shirt in red and black, while Austin got himself a pair of khaki cargo pants and a black polo shirt.

Once they were done, all of them walked up to the cash register where the clerk was and paid for their clothing.

Just as they were walking out back to Austin's car, Francisco heard a musical sound coming out of his iFruit phone. He identified it as Trevor Phillips, the man Ortega has a partnership with. Thanks to Thomas's connection to Trevor, he was able to meet Phillips a few days after Thomas had met Ortega. When he first met him in person, he found himself a bit disturbed by his behavior due to Trevor's lifestyle. But overall, found Trevor to be a serious dealer when it came to guns and drugs.

As they entered the car, Francisco informed the others. "Hey, amigos. Can y'all keep it down for a while? Trevor's calling my cell for something."

Miles responded. "Can you put it on speaker, then? Must be another job he wants us to do."

In response, Francisco answered Trevor's call as he heard the gruff, gritty voice of Trevor Phillips.

"Ahh, if it isn't my dear merc, Francisco. How's it going these days?" Trevor said over the phone convo.

Francisco sighed. "Well, I'm with Austin, Samuel and Miles right now and we just got back from Sub Urban, now we're driving down Hawick Ave for some…"

"Never mind that shit, my dear Latino friend. Listen I have a job that I need you and the others to perform for me." Trevor interrupted as Francisco had a cold look on his face that made the others worry.

Francisco shouted, "Did you just call me a fuckin' Latino, you shithead?! I will let you know that I am of proud Yaqui Indian blood and I will run you to the fucking ground if you dare ever address me as a Latino, puto! Have some respect when it comes to…."

"Shut up, Mr. Pussy Lips! I'm sorry that you are so sensitive towards being labeled a Latino over what you really are, but LIFE ISN'T FUCKING FAIR! Look at me, I'm fucking Canadian and I live in this country. You don't see me complaining about shit because I take it like a man. Some blacks who are Brits get mistakenly labeled as African Americans when they visit this land, but correct people like a gentleman! Not shouting at the top of their goddamn lungs over one man making a mistake about their ethnicity. And the next time you shout at me like that, I will _cut_ your vocal cords out and sell them to the highest bidder on the black market!" Trevor addressed Francisco in a menacing tone.

Francisco's mouth was left agape at the recent development while the others were left in shock and awe. There was an awkward silence in the car for what seemed like three minutes or less until Trevor got back on the line.

"Anyway… back to what I wanted to tell you guys. Not sure if you heard, but the Lost MC have a Crystal Meth lab down by Galilee, it's a place west of Grapeseed. What I need you guys to do is eliminate the competition, steal their crank and bring to my front yard. You'll be paid well for your services, of course. I'll see you in a couple hours, Phillips out." Trevor said as he hung up the call.

Austin was the first to speak. "Well, shit. Trevor went the hell off on Francisco and now we have to pawn off speed from a bunch of bikers. I'll have to drop you guys off at your apartments then, although Pancho here lives in Rancho."

"Well, it's time to get to work then. I'll go to the AmmuNation store at the Vinewood Plaza for any weapons and ammo, along with some grenades if needed. We'll meet near Galilee within an hour or so, right? Pancho, you good, homie?" Samuel said as he turned around his shoulder to check on Francisco.

Francisco rolled his eyes back for a moment. "Whatever, man. Come on, let's get going already, no time to waste here. Sam, I'll help you with the weapons at AmmuNation though."

* * *

**"_Lost My Mind"_**

**3:15 PM, Galilee, Blaine County**

The sun was high up at noon over the now-defunct community of Galilee. The place was once a hotbed for the local fishing industry back when the Alamo Sea wasn't considered to be shit back in the day, but ever since the introduction of meth in Blaine County, the place had gone to hell and never got off the ride. People stopped fishing and were more interested into farming meth and using it to enjoy their high. Sometimes, people who were paranoid of the government would come down to the place just to stay "off the grid". Other times it would be used for parties or to have shady dealings and meth labs under the nose of the local PD.

Wearing the clothing they had brought from Sub Urban, Samuel and Francisco drove right up to the outskirts of Galilee in Francisco's Tornado. They both got out of the car, waiting for Miles and Austin, who were yet to arrive.

"Ay caramba, this place looks like Crap!" Francisco exclaimed as his eyes examined the rundown area that is Galilee.

Samuel pulled out a lighter and box of Redwood cigarettes for a quick smoke.

"That's damn right. You can thank the crystal meth craze for running down Blaine County. This place could've have a bunch of fisherman just catching some bait, but this is what happens when you introduce meth to a community." Samuel said as he inhaled a lit cigarette, only to later on crush it with his brown boots.

Francisco shook his head in return. "This is why they say it's better to smoke ganja or smoke nothing at all. I wonder how Trevor even manages to stay even remotely sane by smoking that shit. By the way, where's Miles and Austin? They should be here by now." He asked Samuel.

Immediately, after he asked that question, Francisco and Samuel turned around their backs and saw Miles and Austin arriving in the red Lampadati Felon that Miles owned. The Felon was then parked by Miles, who then got out of the car with Miles and walked towards Francisco and Samuel were.

"Sorry we're late to the party. _Someone _had to make a pit stop and wasted some of our time by taking a dump in a convenience store." Miles said as he looked at Austin with a hint of displeasure.

"What did you want me to do? Shit my pants on the way over here and look like a man-child?" Austin said with a defensive tone.

"This argument isn't worth the time right now. We have a job to do, guys. We can't be bantering around like a bunch of schoolkids." Samuel argued amongst them.

Both Miles and Austin nodded in agreement. Samuel then went over to the trunk of Francisco's Tornado to show them the cache of weapons he and Francisco had secured, courtesy of AmmuNation.

Samuel gave a grinning smile to the rest of them. "Take your pick here, guys. We've managed to collect body armor, ammunition, Grenades, Hawk &amp; Little 9mm Pistols, Shrewsbury 590 pump-action shotguns and Vom Feuer G36C Carbines for this job."

"Damn, Samuel. You sure know your weapons pretty well." Austin replied in amazement. Samuel then patted Austin on the back. "Well, my friend. You can thank my father for teaching me a lot about guns in good ol' Alaska. Snowboarding wasn't the only thing I was good at. Hey, Pancho. Check around the area to see what we're dealing with."

"Alright, Sam. I'll be sharp as an eagle's eye."

Francisco then went towards the passenger side of his Tornado and got out a set of binoculars to scout out how well manned the area of Galilee was by the Lost MC. He snuck around a short road where there was a small set of houses nearby. Francisco then climbed onto the rooftop of a small house that was abandoned and took a count of how many bikers were present.

"_Damn. About twelve or more bikers around here. Best be careful with these damned Lost putos. They look strapped to the teeth." _Francisco thought to himself. Not wishing to be spotted by the Lost, Francisco ran back to where the others were.

The others quickly turned their attention towards Francisco, who had just stopped in his tracks.

"So how many are we facing?" Miles asked.

"I'd say twelve. That's my best estimate by far. There could be a few more around the area." Francisco added.

The others were lost in their own thoughts thinking of a plan to take out the Lost. Francisco shouted "Aha!" in the air, attracting the attention of his fellow teammates.

"I have an idea. We have to flank them where they won't suspect it. I've checked the areas around Galilee, there's a few places where we could set up a trap and take them by surprise. Austin, Miles, you guys will cover Samuel and I down by Central Galilee. You'll head over to the set of those one-bedroom buildings nearby the businesses and cover us from there. We'll take out as many bikers as we can." Francisco explained to the others in detail.

The others nodded their heads in agreement towards Francisco's well-thought out plan.

"Alright, this can work. Let's get to it." Samuel said. With that, the others went to their respective positions where they would spring the trap on the Lost. Samuel hid behind a small shed nearby where two Lost MC bikers were standing nearby their bikes, Miles and Austin were at the small set of houses nearby, while Francisco was taking cover behind the building where the meth lab was set up.

"Everyone in position?" Samuel asked over the earpiece.

"In position. Let's waste these Lost putos." Francisco said in an eager tone.

"Clear. Come on, we need to steal their meth right away for Trevor. God knows what he could be doing right now." Austin added over the comm link.

"Probably laying on a couch hitting the pipe, waiting for us at this very moment. What else do you expect?" Miles replied back.

"Alright, get ready on my mark. Three… Two… One… zero! Hit em' right now!" Samuel ordered as he laid down fire on the unsuspecting bikers nearby. He managed to drop both of them in quick succession with his Pump Shotgun, putting rounds in their chests.

Francisco went around the other side of the Miller's Boat Shop and ran up on a hill nearby where he spotted two black Lost MC bikers, laying down suppressive fire against Miles and Austin, both of them in cover after taking five rounds to their chest and arms, but were protected thanks to body armor. Given the advantage of being at higher ground, he aimed at the head of a bald-shaven black male who was weighed less than Francisco. Francisco fired bursts of bullet rounds in the man's head, with his blood and brain bits shot out of his head, then his body fell over dead to the ground.

"What the fuck?! Julius is dead! You goddamn piece of…" The other black Lost biker said as he was about to aim at Francisco until he met the same fate as his friend next to him.

Francisco snickered after he shot his target. "You were saying, ese?"

While Samuel had just eliminated another Lost MC biker nearby a shed, Austin set his sights on a white Lost MC biker wearing a "The Lost" sleeveless black shirt with torn denim jeans, who possessed a scar on his right eye and had a short, brown Mohawk he was sporting. The guy had come out of hiding from the other side of the warehouse adjacent from him and started firing towards his position. Being pinned down, Austin waited for a couple seconds until he had an opening to eliminate the guy.

"_Shit! Gotta think of something real quick!" _Austin thought in his mind.

Needing a different strategy, Austin decided to go on top of the roof as a means to gaining an advantage. Using his upper body strength, he climbed onto the top of the roof and aimed down his red dot scope on the guy that had wounded him. He pulled the trigger of his Carbine, firing at least eleven rounds that went through his abdomen and chest, killing him, but caught five rounds to his thighs. Austin went back down for cover, but cursed under his breath which was getting a bit sharp because of the wounds he had received. Not wishing to remain at his current position, Austin moved towards Samuel's position to cover him.

Meanwhile, Miles-who had just gotten out of cover, threw a grenade towards a parked RV in front the pier where six Lost MC bikers were laying down fire at Samuel, Austin and Francisco, all of them taking cover nearby a black Lost MC emblem-crested Burrito van. The grenade went off, causing a fiery explosion and taking out the bikers around the blast radius as they screamed while their bodies were on fire and propelled by the blast.

"Holy shit, Miles! Thank God you saved us. We were getting pinned down there!" Austin shouted in a tired tone.

Miles finished running towards their hiding spot. "Don't mention it, let's get to the pier. I think the last of the Lost have the meth down there." Since time was of the essence, all of them sprinted towards the pier only to notice that the one of the Lost MC bikers had just taken off on a grey Seashark moving across the Alamo Sea.

"Mierda! The bastard just took off on the boat. Now what?" Francisco shouted in the air. Samuel was looking around until his eyes spotted two grey Seashark Jet skis. "Guys, let's chase them in those Jet-Ski's. We can still catch him in time, if possible." Samuel alerted to the others. Wasting no time, the team ran towards the pier and took a dive for the Jet-Ski's. Miles and Austin took off first with Francisco and Samuel following suit.

The team was in hot pursuit of the man with the meth package in hand as their jet skis were quickly treading the waves of the Alamo Sea. From a not-to-far distance, they could notice the guy entering the banks of the Zancudo River. Being halfway close to the banks of the river, the team kicked it into high gear with their Seasharks, hoping to catch up to their assailant.

The Lost biker turned around his shoulder as he made a sharp turn to his right, only to notice that the others were getting close to him.

"Leave me alone, already! My brothers will have you guys killed if you all waste me." The biker shouted at them.

Francisco, riding passenger along Samuel rolled his eyes over, passing off the man's threats. He then fired five rounds from his pistol at the escapee, all of them hitting him at his back, exiting out of his chest except for one that struck his heart, fatally killing him. The man's body slumped forwards on the controls of the Jet-Ski. Francisco then got off Samuel's Jet-Ski and pawned off the meth package from the biker's dead body.

"Lost puto. Let's leave his body out for the animals to feast on." Francisco said as he looked at the man's dead body with a scowl on his face.

Austin sighed. "Fuck that, we're not savages. Better to dump his body down below the Alamo Sea than to allow some random stranger or the Lost for that matter, to come across his decaying body, then comes back to bite us in the ass."

Samuel gave a nod to Austin. "Can't argue against that. Miles, Austin, you guys can dump the poor bastard's body down below. The polluted waters and natural decay would have done its work within a couple weeks." With that being said, both Miles and Austin collected the man's body and threw it down in the middle of the Alamo Sea before reaching dry land, where Samuel and Francisco were waiting.

"Glad that's over with. Now we can finally get this to Trevor and collect our pay." Austin said to the others as they were walking to their cars.

"Let's just hope its good pay, also I think some of us need to get to a hospital." Miles responded back as he entered the driver's seat of his Felon with Austin. Samuel and Francisco departed with them in Francisco's Tornado.

* * *

_**(moments later…) **_

The rest of the team drove up in front of Trevor's dirty trailer in Sandy Shores, ready to inform Trevor about the mission's success. Samuel quickly got out of Francisco's Tornado and ran towards Trevor's front door to notify him of the mission's outcome. He then proceeded to knock on the door and the door suddenly busted open with Trevor wearing his normal attire of a dirty white T-shirt and denim jeans, drinking a bottle of beer.

"Let me guess, you got the meth package from the Lost?" Trevor asked as he drank a bit out of the bottle.

Samuel nodded. "Yeah, but Francisco has it in his possession. Pancho, he wants the package!" Samuel said as Francisco walked up on the front porch with Miles and Austin behind him.

"Francisco, job well done! You know, I thought of deducting your pay after what you said over the phone a couple hours since you were shouting like you were on a period, but this is good enough for me! I'll wire your payments within a couple minutes from now. That is, if I'm not too drunk enough to pay you all like a cheapskate or a guy with a coke issue. Now get off my property!" Trevor shouted as he slammed the door on them.

A silence was present for a short moment until Francisco broke it. "Well, that went better than I expected. Actually, I was prepared for the opposite to happen."

"Just thank God the mission didn't go to shit. How were the Lost that well-armed for a bunch of motorbike thugs? Are they really that notorious?" Miles asked as the others walked towards their cars.

"Take this from a guy who's been involved in a lot of underworld crime. The Lost MC aren't really much of a joke, although that could be debated. There's a reason why no one fucks around with them in a laughing manner. Far as I can recall back in my LC days, they used to run a lot of shit back in the day until some beef was brewing within the Lost and some jumped ship to live here." Samuel added as he stood outside of Francisco's Tornado.

"That's nice hearing about and all, but I just want to get to a hospital right now. My thighs are making me feel like crap." Austin said as he made a groan. Miles then assisted Austin to sit down in the passenger seat of his Felon as they took off to the Sandy Shores Medical Center with Francisco and Samuel in tow.

* * *

**"_Cops Capacity"_**

**3:30 PM, Burger Shot, Vespucci Canals**

Thomas parked outside of the Burger Shot restaurant at the intersection of San Andreas Avenue and Prosperity Street for an afternoon meal. Normally, he would go to Up-n-Atom since the meal prices were cheap these days, but decided to go to Burger Shot as he had not been to the restaurant ever since he left Liberty City. He got out of his Gauntlet, sporting a black and white Trickster varsity jacket, red and black Harsh Souls T-shirt, khaki cargo pants, blue and white sports shoes and a black LS fitted cap. He also made his hair more slicked back as he grew tired of the Faux Hawk haircut he once had and grew out a scruffy beard. As he entered the place, he noticed that the interior had not changed one bit, there was an average amount of customers eating their meal and resembled the LC Burger Shots he used to visit.

"_Well, I guess some things don't change." _Thomas thought to himself. He proceeded to walk up to the front stand where a Caucasian teenager with bushy red hair and prescription glasses was standing behind the register. Thomas then proceeded to look at the menu in front of him.

"Yeah, I'll have The Bleeder with medium-sized French fries and a slurry." Thomas requested the cashier as he brought out his shark card.

"Coming right up and thanks for coming to Burger Shot." The cashier said to Thomas.

As a couple minutes passed by, Thomas was almost done with the meal that he ordered. At this point, he was nearly full from eating the Burger Shot meal. _"These burgers are just the way I remember them. Greasy, fattening and better tasting than Wigwam Burger. Their shit has gone to crap since the 2000's when people went crazy over obesity." _Thomas thought, but was later interrupted by the sound of his cliché, hip-hop ringtone from his phone.

"Wonder what he wants now?" Thomas whispered under his breath as he answered the call.

"Hey Lester! What's going on these days?" Thomas said over the phone.

Lester made a chuckle. "Well, aside from hacking college webcams at midnight and planning out jobs for people that you and I might get along with, not much. Anyway, how would you like to perform your first job for me? I'll make sure the pay is good and immediate."

"Yeah, sure! Just give me the details and everything." Thomas asked as he threw away his food into the trash bin indoors and exited out of the Burger Shot.

"Alright then, time to prove yourself. For reasons that don't concern you, I have an urgent need to thin out the police presence in Los Santos and I was thinking you could cause a diversion... pay some police stations a visit, cause some chaos, lead the cops on a merry dance out of town. I'll have grenades and an armored car waiting for you at the factory. Yes, that kind of chaos." Lester informed Thomas.

"Well, shit. I'm guessing whatever concealed reasons you have, they must be pretty grand." Thomas said as he got in his car.

"Yes, indeed. Trust me, you'll understand in the near-future. For now, just make do with robbing stores, gas stations and whatever sort of illegal activity you perform in your spare time. One more thing, you can bring along one of your friends as well just so you don't feel alone like I do from time to time. *laughs for a moment* I'll meet you at my warehouse down by Murrieta Heights in an hour for further details. Also, when this chaos is done, go to my safehouse nearby the Senora National Park. You'll get the pay there. See you later." Lester said as Thomas dropped the call.

Thomas sat in his car, momentarily absorbing all of the information he had just received. He knew that if things went south for this mission, it would mean being imprisoned for a couple years or months, depending on how long prosecutors were going to charge him for. Thomas thought of going it alone, but that would mean evading one-third of a police force that is seen to be the most violent force in the USA and breaking up the group he had subsequently formed, if he were caught or found dead.

To that end, he decided to call up anyone who was of assistance. At this point, Thomas had caught word of the job Miles, Austin, Francisco and Samuel pulled off since Samuel had texted him, bragging about how the mission went off so smoothly; Mikaela and Shizuka were helping Jamila with a job for Lamar, which he presumed was stealing a gas tanker for make money. Then, he decided to call Madison as he was at the end of his rope.

"Yo, Maddie. You busy or something?" Thomas asked.

"No, why?" Madison asked.

"Well, Lester called me up for a job involving blowing up some police vehicles and raising hell on the LSPD as a means to _"distract" _cops for some ulterior motive. I was hoping if you could ride with me on this one, but the risk is either being put down by the 5-0 or being arrested. However, Lester did say the payout would be beneficial." Thomas informed Madison.

"Not to sound like a know-it-all, but the actual risk of this job would mean us being killed by the cops. I don't think anyone would take kindly towards have their shit being blown up by a couple of freelance criminals, especially by the most violent police force this side of the West Coast." Madison replied back.

"Shit, you have a point there. Liberty City cops aren't that different from Los Santos's own division of police. Birds of the same feather if you ask me. Anyway, you still have your mask from before, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Madison asked.

"Bring it with you on this one. Don't want cops having to ID us when we blow shit up. See you at Lester's Warehouse within an hour. By the way, it's in Murrieta Heights." Thomas answered.

"Thanks for the info. See you later, Tom." Madison said as she dropped the call.

**4:30 PM, Lester's Warehouse, Murrieta Heights**

Thomas drove into the grounds of Lester's warehouse with Madison and Lester waiting in front of the cache of weapons, grenades, body armor and a yellow Dominator facing him. He parked his car sideways next to another warehouse to his right and started walking towards Lester and Madison.

"Not bad, Lester! I like the way you operate. Cars, guns, grenades and body armor. That's a hired gun's wet dream right here!" Thomas said to Lester with an impressed look on his face.

"Just being modest here, but I have a good network of connections that I've established over the years. Despite being a socially-inept weirdo sometimes, I'm even surprised by it myself some days. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I've got some photos to show you what places and vehicles both of you are going to target. Just gather around Uncle Lester here." Lester said as Thomas and Madison approached him with their eyes on his iFruit phone.

"Okay, so the first place you're going to is the Mission Row police station. From the photos taken here, there are two cop cars in the parking lot that need to be destroyed. While you guys are on some Bonnie and Clyde car chase, the next thing for you to do is head down towards the Vespucci police station and blow up a Police Riot van. Then, move down to the Rockford Hills station and blow away some Police Bikes. Once that's over with, you and the police will have a lengthy, Vinewood-worthy car chase all the way down to Bolingbroke Penitentiary where there's a Police Bus nearby the main entrance. Afterwards, make sure to lose the cops after raising hell on them. Once the fog lifts off, I'll come by the safehouse to give you guys your payment. It will be worth it."Lester said as Thomas and Madison looked at each other with flabbergasted looks.

"Well, fuck. That's a tall order of death and destruction. Damn, we're not getting paid enough for risky jobs like this one. Let's hope it turns out well for whatever purpose you have." Madison stated as she brought out her red hockey mask out of her back pocket.

"Believe me, when you get to a position like mine, risks have to be taken when necessary." Lester replied back as he handed them a set of eight grenades, body armor and TEC-9's.

Thomas cracked his knuckles for a quick moment. "Well, Maddie. Let's get going, time to put in this work. I'll drive on this one; you'll shoot at the pigs." Thomas said as both he put on the Pogo mask he possessed since the Richman job.

As Thomas turned on the yellow Dominator's engine, Lester knocked on the driver's door causing Thomas to roll down his window. "Hey, just letting you know. The car has bulletproof tires so no need to worry about car spikes at this point. Also, one more thing about the Dominator; this baby has top speed thanks to its modified engine and transmission, but can also be hard to control when turning corners at top speed, so be careful with it. And I've set the GPS coordinates to your phones. Good luck." Lester said to the both of them.

"Thanks, Lester. We're going to need it that is if we're not reported dead on the nine o'clock news report on Weazel News." Madison said. With that being said and done, they then took off to Mission Row.

**(A short time later…)**

Thomas and Madison parked in front of the Mission Row police station after a ten-minute drive. They parked the Dominator conspicuously nearby the small parking lot where two Police Cruiser cars parked nearby each other. Taking an observatory look around the station, both Thomas and Madison noticed three, Caucasian police officers in their mid-thirties standing outside of the main entrance just having a casual conversation while only about six pedestrians were walking on the street

"You ready for this, Maddie?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, definitely." Madison said as he removed the pin from the grenade and threw the grenade nearby the front right tire of a cop car nearby her. Thomas followed suit as he threw the grenade farther towards the other squad car. However, their luck went away as one of the pedestrians quickly noticed a grenade being nearly, shouting a large shriek and alerting the cops. Thomas then quickly switched the gear to drive and proceeded to make a sloppy, left turn as the grenade went off, causing a chain explosion to occur. One of the cops caught a glimpse of the Dominator swerving around the corner for a left turn and proceeded to warn the cops on patrol.

"Well, there goes making a clean escape. Let's pray we make it out alive." Thomas said as he swerved into Strawberry Avenue. After dodging some cars, he switched back into Vespucci Boulevard, but encountered a police car on the other side of the road waiting for both him and Madison. "Aw Shit!" Thomas exclaimed as he dodged the attempted pit tactic the police tried to perform. At this point, the cop car was trailing them both. Madison loaded her TEC-9, rolled down the window and started firing rounds at the cop car as they entered Elgin Avenue. Five rounds penetrated the mulatto police officer in the chest, causing the vehicle to lose control and hit a tree nearby.

"Fuck you, you little pigs. Can't do shit now, huh?!" Madison shouted in response as they entered Little Seoul. "Whoa, let's not get too carried away here. Remember, most violent police force this side of the West Coast? They can still pump lead at us and not give a shit." Thomas replied back.

"Don't be such a fuckin' killjoy. Let me bask in this moment." Madison said with a smirk on her face.

"Hey, I'm no killjoy. Trust me; I'm much fun to be around. I can show anyone a good time" Thomas answered as he entered Calais Avenue. Madison nodded her head in response. "True, with the drinking and smoking weed stuff you got going on for you, it's pretty evident why you can even been calm in times of distress. Wish I had met you earlier in my days in LC. Could've gotten along with my older crew back in the day." Madison said as they neared the Vespucci Canals police station on the intersection of San Andreas Avenue and South Rockford Drive.

"True, true…" Thomas said as he went down the short ramp nearby the police garage that led to the back of the police station where the Police Riot van was. As they arrived at the back, a pair of Hispanic-American cops (male and female) started firing at Thomas and Madison, forcing them to duck their heads down. Thomas blindly fired at the pair with rounds, only killing the male by chance of dumping four rounds into his head, while the female fell victim to catching eight rounds in stomach and lower intestines were. With that opportunity, Madison removed the pin, held it for a couple seconds and threw it beneath the van, causing the van to erupt in a fiery explosion.

They fled the place like hell on earth and sped off towards the Rockford Hill police station for the Police Bikes. As Thomas switched towards Movie Star Way, a Police Buffalo car suddenly came up behind and started to trail them as they were on their way to the station. At that moment, the passenger cop, who was a white cop in his early 20's with a buzzcut and blue eyes started firing at the Dominator with a pistol, leaving some bullet holes in the back, some and hitting a rear light. Thomas caught five rounds to his upper back, but was saved by his body armor. Madison only caught three to her right shoulder, but was protected and in retaliation, fired back at the young cop, who caught seven rounds to the chest, causing his dead body to slump in his seat. Madison reloaded her Tec-9 again and fired four rounds at the driver, a Korean-American male in his early-40's, his blood splattered across the dashboard, causing the car to come to a complete stop.

Before they could cross over to Mad Wayne Thunder Drive, Thomas and Madison encountered a roadblock that comprised of two Police Buffalo cars blocking their path with an African-American officer with a fade haircut and a European-American officer with short hair, aiming at them with their pistols. Thomas immediately swerved the car around the squad cars, but hit the left rear side of the car against a palm tree, leaving a huge dent in the process. Meanwhile, Madison laid down suppressing fire at the cops nearby, forcing them to take cover. With them being safe for the moment, they moved down Portola Drive where the Police Bikes were.

"Pull the pin and pass me the grenade. I have a better chance of blowing up the bikes here than you do." Thomas said to Madison. "Alright, but do it quick. I can see a squad car towards us from behind." Madison warned Thomas, passing the grenade to him. Thomas then slowed the Dominator's speed down immediately. Wasting no time and effort, Thomas threw the grenade between the two police bikes, immediately causing an explosion, which in turn caused the other bikes to blow up on each other.

Thomas quickly pressed on the pedal to move towards the Los Santos Customs shop, hoping to lose the cops there, but they still had the cop car trailing behind them. Thomas then turned to the alleyway next to the car shop, entering Carcer Way as two more cop cars followed suit as well. "Shit, these bastards don't give up do they?!" Madison got out her TEC-9 and fired rounds at the cop car in the middle, hitting a white police officer in his twenties in the head, smearing the inside of the car's mirror and dashboard with his blood and brains out. The car lagged behind with the other two still in pursuit. Thomas swerved through traffic from Occupation Avenue to Elgin Avenue, hoping to lose the cops, but was still in hot pursuit.

Eventually, they reached the bridge where the intersection between Mirror Park Boulevard and the exit to Route 1 were. Unfortunately for them, in the middle of the bridge, a blockade of squad cars was waiting for them ahead with spike lines, hoping to stop the mercs from causing anymore havoc. "Wow, these cops don't know what's about to hit them." Thomas said as he pressed on the gas pedal again, gaining enough speed to ram into the blockade. Soon enough, the Dominator slammed through the blockade, leaving some damage on the front bumper and hood on the car and four cops wounded from the car's impact. The car immediately swerved towards the exit on its left and joined highway traffic on Route One as the sun was setting.

As they were speeding through the highway and dodging traffic for a couple of minutes, a cop car with two black and white officers, both female; spotted Thomas and Madison behind them by four feet and slowed down their speed to hinder their mission. As Thomas and Madison approached quickly, they turned on their alarms, alerting both of them.

For a moment, both cars were moving like a snake slithering about on the grass, with the cops in front and the hired guns behind them as the Caucasian female officer, wearing dark sunglasses and possessing a ponytail was shooting at the car blindly, hitting the hood, mirror and headlights forcing them to duck. Thomas caught four rounds to his chest and a bullet in his right forearm no thanks to his slow reaction. He made a grunt as he felt the bullet penetrate him; "Enough of this bullshit already! I'm done with these bitches in blue." an angered Madison said as she reloaded her gun and shot at the officer firing at them, firing all twelve rounds at the car.

About seven rounds hit the Caucasian officer; five went into her back and exited out her chest, while the other two hit her neck, causing her to choke on her blood. The rest of the rounds went into the black officer with short hair; three went into her neck and two through the shoulders. As a result, the car went spinning out of control and smashed into a grey Karin Futo nearby, killing both cops and knocking out one Blasian female driver.

"Fuck this shit, I'm driving towards the other road. We'll expect less police force and allowing us to get to the Police Bus." Thomas said as the car was still speeding down the highway. As luck would have it, there was a space in the road that gave Thomas the opportunity he wanted. He quickly drove the Dominator into oncoming traffic, trying to dodge any vehicle that was incoming. Not wishing to crash into another vehicle, he drove off-road in order to get to the Police Van.

"What the fuck, Tom?! This isn't Guns and Speed!" Madison exclaimed.

"Hey, I always dreamed of being in a police chase with a hot chick by my side when I was a teen." Thomas replied back with a smirk, despite wearing his Pogo monkey mask. "And this hot chick also laid down a bunch of cops with a TEC-9 and can still be badass. You haven't used yours, obviously." Madison said. "Well, that's because I'm driving a modified car and I barely shoot while driving. I'm not like those guys in the movies where they'll perform ridiculous death-defying stunts with their cars and live to tell the tale. Now get ready, we're nearing the Prison." Thomas said as he laid his eyes on the prison. Thomas then drove back on the lane, dodging traffic and three police cars, courtesy of the Sandy Shores department.

After dodging a police van, Thomas drove the car off a rocky cliff and landed on the same road where the Police Bus was located. As they approached the bus, only five police officers armed with Glocks, Carbines and Shotguns were standing nearby the bus on alert for the duo. "How unfortunate is this." Thomas said in a mocking tone. "How about we go give a surprise present for these assholes?" Thomas asked Madison. Madison smiled. "You just took the words out of my mouth." Thomas then proceeded to drive towards the Prison Bus just close enough to where the grenades could be thrown.

"Now, here comes the appetizers." Madison said as she and Thomas threw a grenade each nearby the bus. "And last, but not least the main course for our pigs in blue." Thomas added into the joke as he threw a grenade nearby where the guards were standing and drew out his TEC-9 for a drive-by. He started spraying at them intentionally to threw them off-guard for the explosion, which occurred at the same time. Despite wounding three guards on-duty, the fiery explosion took the rest out, shouting desperate screams as they met their deaths. As they drove out of the prison grounds outside, they heard police sirens coming their way.

"Must have heard the explosions from afar, cross through the satellite dish fields nearby and drove to a place where we can lose the cops." Madison advised Thomas as he was still driving on the road. "Got it." Thomas replied back, driving off-road towards the satellite dishes.

"So far, cops are still searching for us and might be heading towards the prison. I'll drive nearby the set of large bushes over the plateau just to hide out. Either they're too dumb or alert to even suspect a couple of criminals hiding nearby some large-ass bushes." Thomas informed Madison as he drove towards the bushes over the plateau where the Senora National Park was located.

"So how long do we have to wait this one out?" Madison asked as she removed her mask off, revealing her face which was evident of her mixed Caucasian-Chinese features, as her brown eyes, layered bob black hairstyle, jaw-line and lips were inherited from her Chinese mother, while her ears, nose, and cheekbones were from her English father and her near-white complexion being mixed thanks to her parents' skin.

"I'd say about less than four minutes, maybe two at the most." Thomas said as he removed his mask. Madison took a deep sigh, signifying her annoyance "Let's get out of the car; I want to scout out to see if any cops are searching around the area. Can't be too careful, though." Thomas nodded his head in response as his eyes noticed that it was getting dark real soon.

They both got out of the car, walked not too far from the area, watching the area for a couple minutes and noticed that the cop sirens had just stopped, possibly heading back towards the local police station. "Coast is clear, let's get over to the safehouse." Thomas said as they entered the yellow Dominator. "Shit, did we really escape the hand of **_both _**the LSPD and SSPD police departments on the same day?" Madison said in a confounded manner as she stroked her hair back. Thomas turned on the radio and switched the station to Vinewood Boulevard Radio as the song; "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots was playing as they rejoined the highway. "Hell fuckin' yeah, we did! Not only that, but we're getting a damn good paycheck out of this one."

"Let's hope it's a good one, Lester doesn't seem like the type of guy who wouldn't take a shit on the people who helped him out with his jobs. Unlike a certain car dealer and hack we know of." Madison said as they chuckles towards her derisive mockery of Simeon.

Later, they parked in front of the safehouse where Lester's dark blue Declasse Asea parked outfront. They parked at the back and walked towards the entrance of the safehouse.

Thomas knocked on the door twice and the opened, revealing Lester, wearing his green plaid shirt, glasses, denim jeans, cane and white sneakers. "Ah, I see you two are back from your chaotic escapade with the police. Tell me, how was it? By the way, some mechanics will be coming with your cars soon." Lester asked them as he placed his laptop on the table.

They walked into the safehouse, which was pretty decent for a house in Sandy Shores. The décor looked pretty average as there were creamy tiles and carpeting around the house; An average-sized kitchen was nearby and didn't have any decay around; The living room had a couple vases and paintings around, not to mention a TV set and laptop system neary; A bathroom was nearby the kitchen and only one bedroom was available for usage.

"Well, we did blow up the vehicles as you asked, but we also caught some shiners and wounds to show what we went through." Madison added as she and Thomas removed their body armor, revealing bruises on their shoulder and abdomen. "Well, as for yours truly. I need a First Aid kit thanks to the bullet wound I got in my forearm. Shit, I need to sit down for a moment." Thomas said with exhaustion as Lester brought out the kit. Thomas then proceeded to remove his shirt, exposing his "creamy-coffee" complexion.

"Anyway, I'll wire the money to your account. I can tell you that it's worth over 23 grand for the both of you. Consider it as a thank you for making my operations much easier for me. Before I go, I'd advice laying low in the safehouse for the night. I'm certain that the cops are still looking for a couple of 'no-good' criminals in Sandy Shores. Also, I'm going to destroy that Dominator out in the back as well, since I don't want the cops snooping around and finding incriminating evidence against us. Good night." Lester said he walked out of the safehouse, leaving Thomas and Madison on their own.

"Twenty-three grand, I like the sound of… AAHHH!" Thomas shouted in pain in response to Madison tying a belt above the wound to induce pressure.

"Sorry, but someone has to save you from passing out like you did last time." Madison said.

"Well, thanks for the vote of assurance. Wait, how do you know all this?" Thomas asked.

"Searched it on EyeFind. Was hoping to use this sort of thing someday, now that wish has come true." Madison replied back as she started using medical utensils to pick out the bullet embedded in Thomas' forearm, causing him to shout and curse under his breath.

"Alright Nurse Bellamy, do I get a kiss on the cheek or a massage as a bonus?" Thomas said with a cocky smirk towards Madison.

Madison scoffed it off in response. "Don't push your luck too far, Marston. A kiss is one thing… but a massage is another thing for a different time."

"Well when you put it like that, I guess the other option would be…" Thomas said before pressing his lips on Madison's as he cupped her face with both hands, holding onto the kiss for a good moment as a means of showing care and affection towards her. In his mind, he always found Madison to be a beautiful person inside and out ever since the first days from when he landed in Los Santos. It was during their outings together that he felt a connection towards Madison, but didn't act on it first for a while until after being in the hospital for a couple days.

Madison pulled back first with a blush on her cheeks. "Wow, your charm never ceases to amaze me, Thomas. Does it run in the family?"

"Eh, we Marstons are known for being smokers, fierce fighters, and being polite to women. It's the way we get shit done and look great at it. But on a serious note, I've had feelings for you since I came here. You're beautiful as hell, who would deny someone like you? I'd be declared mentally insane in front of a court if I lied before you right now. I'm ready to make this work if you're willing to do so with me. If not, I'll respect your wishes."

Madison snickered and gave a smile. "Charming with action and words. You've swept me off my feet, Thomas. Also, you're not so bad yourself. You such a complex person, though." Madison proceeded to rest her head on his stomach as her hands laid on his chest. Thomas proceeded to stroke her hair in a caressing manner. "Well, that's one of the things I do best, Madison. Kill enemies and be that charming, impressive scoundrel at the same damn time. Let's just go to sleep, really. I'm not ready for the whole 'bedroom sex' thing yet. I'd rather be patient this time, not to mention our bruises and shit."

"Agreed, I'm glad about this moment and everything else. That, and the fact we're being paid for this shit. This will lead into bigger and better opportunities for everyone else." Madison said as she and Thomas walked to the bedroom.

"I promise you, it will. But at some point, everyone might run into trouble. For now, let's enjoy what we have." Thomas added as he gave Madison a kiss to her forehead and closed the bedroom door.

* * *

**And the return is for real this time! Hey fellow readers, this is Tom The Author here. Now I know that last time from way back when, I informed you all about my exams (something that I finished last week) and that I had to take a hiatus. Well, that hiatus is over. I've worked on this chapter over the course of possibly two months and I'm glad to say that it was worth it. This chapter is somewhat different as I decided to include two missions, one without Thomas in place of his companions, another that featured Thomas and a close companion. With the job, "Lost My Mind" I had intentions to show the friendship between other OC characters and to hopefully build them as their own characters, along with their own personalities.  
**

**As for the job, "Cops Capacity", I've had the intention of showing the relationship between Thomas and Madison. This was something that I had planned from the get-go when I first made this story. Not only that, but I also wanted to show more involvement with Lester Crest as he is a vital part of GTA Online (obviously, Grand Theft Auto V as well) and is a great factor as to why the jobs are worthwhile. Honestly, if there's one thing I'm hoping I did not fail at, it would be character development. It's something that I've been meaning to show in the story as a whole with the OC's.**

**As for the next chapter, I'm planning on introducing Martin Madrazo into the mix as well, as he is one of the best-paying bosses in Online despite how much of a jerk he can be. Regardless, he is a force not to be reckoned with, given the resources he has at his disposal.**

**One more thing I need to touch on. I've read a brilliant Star Wars theory by Lumpawarroo on the Star Wars Sun-Reddit about the imfamous character, Jar-Jar Binks secretly being a Sith Collaborator with Palpatine, hidden dark force user, drunken fist moves and even has mind control abilities which he uses discreetly in the movies, especially in "Attack of the Clones" when he "convinced" the Senate to give Palpatine emergency powers. I would highly suggest reading the theory, it is one of the best theories on the internet and gives a different, but darker look at the Star Wars Prequels. Apparently, it does explain why Count Dooku was shoe-horned in Attack of The Clones, though. If Binks was exposed as a hidden Sith Lord instead of Dooku, that would've been a hell of a reveal. Hell, I'd even write a FanFic story about the theory as a whole (something which I'm seriously considering). Anyway, that's all for now, folks. God Bless. -Tom The Author.**


	19. Update Chapter 1

**Update Chapter #1**

**Now, I'm pretty sure you guys must be asking yourselves, "What the hell, Tom? Where have you been for the past couple of months?! It's 2016 and we haven't seen not one single chapter from you?! What happened, dude?" If that is your response to my long-extended absence, I honestly can't blame you for it and I take full responsibility. First and foremost, I will address the honest reason why I've been gone since December of 2015. Also, the statement in quotation was an exaggeration, but don't take it seriously though, okay?**

**After the first couple weeks into January of 2016, I experienced a "lack of interest" if you will- towards the story as a whole, couple with a series of personal issues, college work, and self-doubt. Due to this, I became uninspired and lazy to work on the story. It wasn't until mid-February that I started working on the official chapter. (And yes, it is eighty-five percent done at this point. Even I'm pushing myself more to put this one out.) I'd like to take the time to thank you guys for reading this update chapter and I made a short, brief description on my Profile page about all this. The official chapter will come before the end of Spring Break, which is two weeks from now (Hell, maybe even before the end of Spring Break, but no promises). Thank you all for your support by reading the story and yet again, I apologize for my absence.**

**-Tom The Author**


	20. Chapter 17

**1:50 PM, Vanilla Unicorn**

Sporting a brown and WSBL open varsity jacket with a black shirt, blue jeans and grey sneakers, Francisco entered the interior of the Vanilla Unicorn, the famous stripclub that he was known for frequenting. He had come to enjoy the stripclub as he liked the darkly-lit neon light surrounding the nightclub's interior, the drinks and most of all-the women who showed off their sultry curves. The stripclub was known for being in Strawberry-something that put off Francisco a bit as he didn't like how gang members would sometimes start fights in the club with the patrons, only for it to end with bruised egos, cuts, bruises or someone being shot up in the club. For the most part, a lot of the activity was quite peaceful-save for the occasional sexual harassment from a pervert trying to catch a feel from the strippers. Francisco was known for one other thing and that was his reputation of having slept with all of the strippers at least once-something which he held in pride.

He walked towards the bar where the brown-haired, brown-eyed, Caucasian bartender, "Ms. J" a.k.a. Jessica was behind the counter dancing to Mariah Carey's "Honey" being played across the nightclub, courtesy of the DJ. She then turned around to see the 23-year old Yaqui Indian man facing her with a grin.

"Francisco! It's been a while since you last came here. How are you these days?" Ms. J asked with a smile as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, I'm doing alright for myself these days. You know, always getting into trouble these days." Francisco said as he pulled out ten dollars for a glass of whiskey. Ms. J took the money from him and pulled out a bottle of 'The Hill' whiskey for him and added ice to his cup

"Yeah, I'm aware of your history with being involved with the wrong crowd as you've told me before. Then again, can't blame you for being talented at what you're good at, Pancho." Ms. J said as Francisco downed a shot of whiskey, his insides feeling the burning sensation of the whiskey going down in his system.

Francisco took a sigh and passed on another ten to Ms. J. "Hey, I tried getting a normal job in LC, but my ends weren't met, so I went to the one thing I knew I was good at-killing people with a gun in my hand. Ever since then, I've been doing that to make a decent living in this life." He grabbed another shot and drank it down his system.

"I can see that you're doing pretty well so far. You obviously have a good source of income. Me, I'm just the bartender who makes a good wage from serving men and women who just want to live life."

He nodded in agreement. "Anyway, you obviously have other customers to attend to, so I'm going to try and get a private dance from one of these beautiful ladies." Francisco said with a smirk on his face.

"Then after that, you're going to have sex with them every time you come around here, I assume." Ms. J. asked.

"What can I say, I have that bad boy charm that the ladies can't resist. Speaking of which, I can hear them calling for me." Francisco bragged in an arrogant manner.

"I'm not stopping you anyway, I'm not the one who might get an STD the next morning." Ms. J replied back as she served an African-American patron.

Francisco scoffed. "Says you. That's why I have a condom in my pocket like I always do." He proceeded to walk towards the stage where he saw Chastity in her black and red lingerie outfit performing various pole-dancing moves for a small crowd of testosterone-fueled males who were pleased at the sight of Chastity's body and curves moving in a seductive, sultry manner.

"_Muy Caliente! Chastity has really improved since the last time I saw her fine ass. Even this is starting to get me a hard-on." _Francisco said, smitten by Chastity's sultry dance and her body.

He leaned towards the railing and observed Chastity executing an Allegra dance and a "Music box" dance for a few minutes and started twerking on the pole, causing him and the others to cheer her on with whistles in the air out of pure excitement and arousement. Out of the rest of the patrons there, Francisco dropped the most money on Chastity, totaling an amount of two thousand dollars for her set. Once she was done with her set, he was waiting for her to come out of the room where the private dances and locker room were located. Fortunately, she comes out still wearing the same lingerie from before and turns towards Francisco.

"Francisco! It was very nice of you to drop two thousand on me, at least this allows me to pay off my bills and rent for a couple weeks. It's been so long, I haven't seen you in the Unicorn for a week. What's been going on?" Chastity said, thanking him for the tip.

Francisco nervously ran his hand through his hair. "Well… I've been _busy_ since I got out of Bolingbrook. So I haven't found time to come here like I normally do."

Chastity smiled. "Well, at least you're doing alright for a guy who got out of prison. Anyway, I have to attend to the patrons around here…" She proceeded to leave Francisco's presence before he grabbed her by her arm. "Wait a minute, my darling. Maybe I can invite you over to my house for some '_hot coffee' _maybe. You know… it's been a while since the last time we got together over at your place."

Chastity sighed. "I knew you were going to say something like that as you've said the same thing to the other strippers. Then again, you're better than most of the perverts who visit this place since they jerk off to third-rate pornos. And I should repay you anyways…" At that moment, Francisco heard a ringing call from his phone.

Francisco rolled his eyes over in annoyance, recognizing the caller ID as Ortega. "I'm sorry, my dear. My boss is calling me for something important. I might get occupied later on, so call me when your shift is over." Francisco said to Chastity as he walked over to the short passage where the ATM machines were located and answered Ortega's call.

"Ortega, you know that you've committed a cock-block move, my friend?! I was just doing my thing earlier, but you had to screw that up, amigo. This had better be good." Francisco ranted to Ortega over the phone.

"Well, I'm sorry for ruining your booty call, Pancho. One of my sources informed me about a weapons deal between the Marabunta and the Lost that's going down today at 3:15 PM sharp. I'm sure you've heard of their long-time affliation with one another, right? Apparently, The Lost MC are supposed to load the arms shipment into a van for Marabunta down at the scrapyard in Sandy Shores in return for payment. Just kill whoever the hell is standing in your way and bring it over to my trailer. I'll have someone collect it from you once you get there. God bless and good luck."

Francisco thought long and hard over a strategy on how to go about the job. He couldn't risk being traced by Marabunta and the Lost since both were working together and it would mean a total disaster for everyone he brought along. A _distraction_ would be needed for the job, a scapegoat to take the fall when the job had a priority. Immediately, the solution came to him in his mind as the answer was very simple for him to figure out. Not too long, he then went through his phone for contacts.

First person he thought of calling was Thomas as he had not taken up a job offer from Ortega. Francisco then dialed his phone number and waited for him to answer his call.

"Hey, Francisco. Now is not the best time to call right now. I'm on my second date with Maddie at the movies, so can you make it quick or something?" Thomas said in an anxious tone.

Francisco sighed. "Well, sorry amigo. I didn't know about that. I wanted to ask if you were up for a job offer on behalf of Ortega. It's basically stealing a weapons shipment from the Lost MC and Marabunta Grande."

"Sorry, man. I'm busy right now with the date and all that. Also, Madison will have me by the balls if I take any longer right now. Austin, Miles and Samuel are busy at the moment, said something about a job from Gerald; had to do with one of his homies being captured in Rancho. Listen, I have to go right now and I'm really sorry that we can't help at the moment. Call the rest and see what happens, alright? Good luck with the job, Pancho." Thomas replied hastily as he disconnected the call.

Francisco was then left with the final option of calling in Mikaela, Jamila and Shizuka as he didn't have much of a choice given the situation he was in. He went through his contacts list once more and dialed Mikaela's number in hopes of getting assistance with Ortega's job request. Fortunately for him, she answered his call.

"Hey, Francisco. What's up?" Mikaela inquired from him.

Francisco spoke as he exited the Vanilla Unicorn and made his way to his Tornado. "Well, I was hoping if you guys could help me out with this job I was given by Ortega. You know him, right? Leader of the Varrios Los Aztecas set in Blaine County."

"Only by reputation. Never met him before." Mikaela responded.

"Of course, I've only told Thomas about him. Anyway, the job is basically interrupting a weapons deal between the Lost and Marabunta, down by the Thompson Scrapyard in Blaine County. I'll need you, Jamila and Shizuka for this one since the others are busy at the moment."

"Lucky for you, I don't have much going for me at this time. So yeah, I'll help you with this job of yours. What sort of friend would I be if I lied to right now? I'll see if Jamila's busy and Shizuka's currently at her part-time job right now."

Francisco was blindsided by this as he didn't know Shizuka very well aside from being a friend of Thomas. "Wait a minute, what part-time job?"

* * *

**2:15 PM, San Andreas Flight School**

Shizuka wearing the professional uniform of a flight instructor entered the confines of her small, but modest office, having just finished another session of flight instructing with another trainee. _"Well, time to see what's on the schedule for today. Hopefully, the next one is my last for today. I could go for a cigarette break with some coffee from Bean Machine." _ Shizuka thought, feeling a bit exhausted from her training sessions with the trainees she had been instructing for throughout the past three hours.

Shizuka's office was quite decent for someone who on one hand was involved in both legal and illegal work, but if Shizuka were to tell someone herself, it's pretty nice having the best of both worlds. A small window with blinds was next to a small bookcase containing some of her favorite novels and flight instruction manuels. The only items there were a pair of chairs, on top of her average-sized, brown table was her laptop and flower vase full of white roses on top. Although, feeling the desire to smoke a Redwood cigarette after the lesson ended to push the stress away, she knew that would be for later as she noticed that her schedule was almost complete for the day. Only thing she had to do was complete a final session for the day.

Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door as she was gathering her files. "Come in!" Shizuka shouted. The door opened and the figure was revealed to be a physically fit, blonde woman with sharp blue eyes in her late-20's wearing a red and blue flannel shirt with fitted blue jeans as they fitted her curvy, busty figure; the lady was also sporting small, silver earrings, blue and white Pro Laps sneakers and was sporting a ponytail. Shizuka looked upon the lady with her eyes paying a good detail of attention as she liked how her clothing fit her figure. The woman came up to Shizuka as she sat in her office chair with her hand stretching out towards her.

"Hey, Shizuka!" The woman stated towards Shizuka in a friendly manner. Shizuka proceeded to shake her hand in return, with a warm smile on her face.

"Carla O'Dell. I-It's been a couple w-weeks since you've been here for training, what's been going on with you? Family issues or something?" Shizuka asked in a formal manner.

"I'm doing alright. Traffic was hell as usual in this damned city, but I've managed to get by. Anyway, I just wanted to continue where we last left off. It's something that I've been meaning to take off my bucket list as one of the many things I'd like to do before I die and my ashes are resting in some antique jar." Carla added with a hint of dry humor.

Shizuka giggled a bit. "Well, it seems you made the right call, O'Dell. I'm glad that you still want to go through with it. I'm only hoping that you still remember how to handle the stick really good and don't crash and burn into any tall buildings a la' 9/11, then you're good in my book." Shizuka then stood up and handed Carla a spare flight suit from her closet in case if she lost the one she has in her apartment. Afterwards, they both left Shizuka's office to start Carla's training session.

Air traffic wasn't busy as usual, thus giving both ladies less worries on their minds. Carla and Shizuka entered the hanger section of LSIA via Shizuka's dark black and white Pigelle-something which she brought online over the past couple of weeks thanks to a couple jobs she had been performing with the crew. They drove over to a hanger on the far side of the airport where a red and white Velum aircraft was parked.

"Thank goodness we won't be flying one of those damned Mammatus airplanes, got sick and tired of flying that piece of crap all around Los Santos! I hated how slow that thing was." Carla said to Shizuka, happy that her days of being a beginner were behind her.

Shizuka scoffed it off as they walked over to the Velum craft. "Then you haven't flown the Cargobob or the Titan yet. Those babies are slow, but they get the job done." She then took the passenger seat, while Carla took over flying controls. Carla proceeded to activate the switches around the flight controls while Shizuka watched over. Carla then drove the Velum out of the hanger and started to speed down the tarmac. She then pulled the control stick upward, taking the Velum upward, flying over the airport's as it entered the skies of Los Santos, overlooking the vast, varied landscape of the city and its environment.

"Alright, not too bad. Hey, you ever try flying under the bridges before?" Shizuka asked.

"Me? Not at all, only daredevils with skill do stuff like that. This isn't an action movie where you're getting chased by rogue agents or whatever." Carla stated dryly.

Shizuka laughed a bit. "Well, that's what we're going to do today. That and performing a barrel roll." Carla turned at Shizuka's direction with wide eyes gazing at her. "You've got to be kidding me, I signed up to fly like a normal pilot, not fly like StarPilot 69!"

"Believe me, you're g-gonna need it someday. Who knows, t-there might be a crazed hack who will try to crash his plane into yours just for the hell of it. B-Besides that, I got some other stuff to do after this." Shizuka responded. Carla sighed in defeat as she flew her way towards the Miriam-Turner Overpass. As Carla approached the overpass, she lowered the plane's altitude to fly under the bridge and turned starboard as she approached the overpass from a different angle. Carla calmed herself down and reminded herself to keep the Velum steady as possible as it flew under the overpass, which she performed with relative ease.

"W-well, I'm glad to s-see that you're i-improving, Carla. Now onto the b-barrel roll. Okay, all you have to pull up the stick for a couple s-seconds then you'll spin the plane for a limited amount of time. After that, bring the plane back to normal altitude and turbulence." Shizuka said to Carla.

"_Well, no one said that you could become an ace pilot in a day or two." _Carla thought to herself. She inhaled deeply and breathed out before getting ready to execute her barrel roll maneuver.

Carla pulled the stick towards her as the plane started flying upwards, thus giving her the opening she needed. She activated the flight controls enabling her to spin the plane, but moved slowly due to the Velum's slow maneuverability. She continued to spin the plane for a couple seconds until she stabilized it once more back on its normal path.

"G-good job, Carla! Now let's fly back to the airport since we're already done with today's lessons." Shizuka said as she high-fived Carla. As they were flying back to the airport, they struck up a conversation about their social lives.

"So tell me Kichida, what do you normally do after flight school hours? Hang out at a bar or play some sports just to burn off those calories?" Carla inquired.

"W-Well, I usually hang out with a small group of p-people that I've gotten really c-close with since last month thanks to a good friend of mine. His name's Thomas by the way. I'm very sure you'd like the guy once you get to meet him. Anyway, I usually go on various social outings like drinking at a bar or a nightclub. One of my favorite bars would be Tequi-La-La in Vinewood. I'd usually go there between 7PM and 12AM." Shizuka added as Carla made a landing approach on the tarmac. The wheels made a squealing sound as the wheels of the Velum landed on the tarmac.

Carla smirked. "Well, it's nice getting to know someone once you get to learn about them better. I mean… I've been flying with you for over a couple weeks so I'm glad that we're getting somewhere." She then proceeded to park the Velum in the hanger the same place where they had found it. They got in Shizuka's Pigelle and drove back to the Flight School's grounds.

Shizuka got out of the car first and shook hands with Carla. "W-Well, I had a great time w-watching you improve your skills! I think y-you'll be ready to become a certified pilot real soon, Carla."

"I appreciate the comment, Shizuka. Hey! How about we have a drink-" Carla said but was caught off-guard by Shizuka who then heard a cliché Hip-Hop ringtone from her phone. She raised her forefinger to Carla as a sign telling her to wait patiently. As she took a look at her phone's screen, her eyes paid attention to a text from Francisco, which read:

**[Francisco: Shizuka, I need you meet me at the parking lot next to the Up-n-Atom restaurant in Vinewood. It's something urgent that I'll have to explain once you've met me there. I've already sent out the same messages to Jamila and Mikaela, so they're on their way. One more thing, I'd suggest getting a mask and wear yellow clothes for this one. I'll explain everything later. –Pancho.]**

Alerted by this message, Shizuka quickly walked back to her car, but had to make an excuse for Carla as she didn't want her being too suspicious of her action. "Hey, listen, Carla. I have to go s-somewhere. It's quite u-urgent. I'll see you some other time, okay?" Shizuka said as she got back in her Pigelle and turned on its engine.

"Uh, alright then. I'll see you later." Carla said as Shizuka left the Flight School's grounds, joining the slow traffic flow in the Los Santos International Airport.

* * *

**2:30 PM, Vinewood**

Shizuka was at the traffic stop opposite of the In-n-Out restaurant in Vinewood. She rarely visited the affluent, attractive district due to her job as a flight instructor, but only went there whenever there was a new movie out or wanted to hang out around the local nightclubs just to flirt with the local females and have an enjoyable time to herself. She pondered as to why Francisco had wanted the rest of them to meet up at such a shady spot as it meant something serious or wrong was about to happen. The only meetings that took place in alleyways were either small-time drug deals in order to avoid any run-ins with the LSPD or getting high with drug-addicted homeless people.

Shizuka then continued down Las Lagunas Boulevard and made her way into the alleyway where the famed mural was located. There she could spot Jamila, Mikaela and Francisco standing nearby their cars in the parking lot. She then drove her Pigalle in an empty parking space and turned off the engine of her vehicle. Once Shizuka got out, she walked over to where the others were standing and hugged Mikaela (who was sporting tight-hugging black jeggings that suited her thighs and buttocks, a blue midriff covering her breasts and torso while sporting white sports shoes) as she had missed her over the past couple of days no thanks to the job she had a steady income for. She then proceeded to perform handshakes with both Jamila (who was wearing blue denim jeans, black sneakers and a black T-shirt that read "**LS" **in bold print) and Francisco, still sporting the same clothing from before.

"Alright, Francisco. What's the deal a-about all of t-this secret meet-and-greet s-shit? Afraid the Feds are listening in right now?" Shizuka asked impatiently.

Francisco shook his head in response. "You worry too much, Shizuka. I didn't want anyone fuckin' eavesdropping on something like this, given how so many people in this city will blab to their friends about anything. Anyway enough about that crap, the reason why I called you all here is because of a job that will require a lot of weapons, body armor and stealing a weapons shipment from The Lost MC and Marabunta Grande in Sandy Shores for my boss, Ortega."

Mikaela gave a confused look towards Francisco. "Wait, those two groups are working together? Never heard of that relationship before. Is that why you had us wear this weird-ass cholo Vago getup?"

Francisco sighed as he recalled the history behind the Salvadorian gang and the Lost. "Basically, they've had some connection with Marabunta in the past couple of years in different parts of the States, particularly in the Northeast where they were making various illegal deals with them, just for weapons and shit. Relations between the Vagos and the Lost got strained after we started fucking things up for them, both sides thought someone in both ends was leaking out info to a gang of random mercs. It got worse after the Vagos uncovered their dirty history with MBG, so they severed all ties with the Lost afterwards. Now shit's about to blow up in the Lost's face once we eliminate them and leave incriminating evidence pointing at the Vagos while they are none the wiser."

Jamila sighed, knowing the consequences that would result from their actions. "You are aware this will ignite a war between Marabunta, The Lost and Vagos on a two-to-one ratio, right? We are basically creating a bloody shitstorm here. Also, isn't Ortega said to be one of the head honchos of the Aztecas? I've seen his name on Bleeter before since some MB boys would mention his name in disgust about how his gang is trying to stir the pot around their operations in BC."

"I see you've done your homework, Jamila. The Aztecas and Marabunta Grande have been engaging in a gang war for the past month, trying to gain control of the gun and drug trade in the county. Believe me, this might be the only way we'll give an upper hand for the Aztecas in the long run. Also, I think the Lost would have a huge score to settle with the Vagos while MBG would think twice of splintering forces to fight off two rival Mexican gangs." Francisco explained to Jamila and the others.

"Francisco, aren't you worried one bit about the safety of your life since you live in Rancho of all places? The results won't be pleasing to hear once we go through with this. I've lost a couple good people to this sort of shit." Mikaela asked, with a sign of concern of her face. Deep down, she was worried about the potential implications of being involved in a gang war as she had lost some friends in her past to gang violence in Vice City, given the disputes over drug distribution and control in the city's criminal underworld.

"I've been a soldier since I was a youth. I think I've gotten accustomed to the violence in Rancho to a certain extent, so not at all. Plus, I got you guys to back me up when shit hits the fan." He then went to open up the trunk of his Tornado, revealing a cache of weapons and armor.

"So far, I've managed to secure four Vom Feuer Carbine Rifles and Heavy Shotguns, along with body armor and ammunition thanks to our dear 2nd Amendment pro-gun seller, Ammu-Nation and their 40% discount sale. Can't use explosives on this one since we can't risk blowing up the armament in the van and it has to be delivered for the Aztecas. So instead, I brought ourselves a Jerry Can for the job. More efficient for the job." Francisco addressed to the others.

Shizuka spoke up next. "Okay, y-you said the o-operation's at Sandy Shores, but w-where specifically?"

Francisco mentally cursed at himself for forgetting the location where the weapons deal was taking place. "It's at the scrapyard nearby Sandy Shores. I'm sorry, I should have been clearer about that."

Mikaela replied, "Don't w-worry about it. Come on, I think we have a shipment to pawn off in Blaine County." The others nodded in agreement with Shizuka. Francisco and Jamila rode in his Tornado while Shizuka and Mikaela drove off in her Stanier.

* * *

**3:15 PM, Blaine County**

The bright, shining sun amongst cloudy skies cast all of its sunlight across the Grand Senora Desert and Sandy Shores as it was a sunny day out for any commuters driving on the Interstate and the poor, local residents of Blaine County, save for those who were profiting off of Crystal Meth, drugs and the gun trade in the area.

The gang of four- Francisco, Jamila, Shizuka and Mikaela had exited the Interstate and entered the area of Blaine County to hijack the arms shipment for Ortega, the set leader of Varrios Los Aztecas. As they neared the entrance to the scrapyard, all of them put on their masks in order not to be identified by their adversaries; unless found dead and being found riddled by bullets, of course. Francisco had on a "Day of the Dead" skull mask with blue, red and black floral decorations with various markings on it, including a cross on the forehead of the mask; Jamila was sporting a Princess Robot Bubblegum mask as a homage to one of her favorite programs; Mikaela wore a black, white and yellow hockey mask with colorful lighting streaks imprinted on the mask, while Shizuka sported a gray "skull" mask.

Both the Professionals and Marabunta gang members were currently having a discussion on the other side of the scrapyard. Specifically, the area where rusting jetliners and abandoned vehicles were left to rust for many years. The gang drove into the scrapyard, passing by the abandoned warehouse and smaller units surrounding the warehouse. Francisco's Tornado slowly entered the scrapyard, with Shizuka and Mikaela following behind them. They took a good look at their surroundings and noticed that they were dealing with heavy resistance. A total of eight Lost MC bikers and Marabunta gangbangers surrounded the area with a black Vapid Speedo van which contained the arms shipment, two Lost MC Gang Burrito vans, and two turquoise Albany Emperors within their midst.

They parked their cars a couple feet away from where both their enemies were as they wanted to give a good opening for when they'd hijack the van off the soon-to-be dead bodies of both Professionals and MBG members. All of them got out of the cars at the same time as one of the Professionals, an African-American male sporting a pair of black gloves, grey sports coat, black dress shoes, denim jeans and blue collar shirt with a goatee and dreadlocks was looking around the scrapyard, noticed Francisco, Mikaela, Shizuka and Jamila with their body armor, weapons and masks on.

The black Lost MC biker shouted in the air, "What the fuck is this bullshit? We're no longer dealing with you Vago assholes anymore! Not after our little deals always ended up with our brothers and sisters' deaths and trying to set us as usual."

Jamila sneered at the comment. "Nigga, shut the fuck up- actin' like you can talk your shit 24/7. Save your feelings for LifeInvader. You Meth-addled, cock-sucking bitches have something we'd like to steal off your hands. Francisco had a humored expression on his face despite the mask he was wearing, amazed that she was pretty blunt in her sharp insult. "Damn. Nice insult there." He whispered with a grin on his face.

The Lost biker gave an angry stare towards Jamila and the others. "Well, you'll have to take it from our dead bodies, you little-"He was suddenly interrupted as Jamila fired fourteen rounds from her Carbine Rifle at the man who was still talking trash towards her and her teammates, hitting the man in his stomach and intestines. The man staggered backwards as he touched his hands on the wound sites and fell on the ground as he felt his own presence fading away.

"What were you saying, nigga?" Jamila said mockingly to the deceased man's body.

One of the Lost MC bikers, a mixed-race male who was half black and white with a shaved haircut gave a dark, angry stare at them and shouted, "You crazy bitch! You just killed Jamal! Die you pieces of shit!" He started to take aim at the others- forcing them to move quickly on their feet to seek out cover behind the same vehicles they drove in with pairs as he started firing. Soon, every Professional and MBG gangbanger was firing at their cars, hoping to kill the team of mercenaries who were attempting to steal their shipment.

Shizuka and Mikaela were hidden behind the other side of the latter's Stanier, but were laying down fire at both Professionals and Marabunta alike. Shizuka managed to kill two Caucasian Lost MC gunmen by sheer luck of ten rounds to the chest each, as they had exposed themselves while moving up to a rusty van nearby just to gain the upper hand on them. Jamila on the other hand, had fired two shells from her pump-action shotgun into the abdomen of a bandana-masked Marabunta gangbanger, who was wearing an oversized blue polo shirt, short blue pants, and blue sneakers. The blast had left the gangbanger collapsing to the ground as a bloody mess to his ribcage since bits and pieces of his flesh and bones fell on the sand.

Francisco popped out of cover within a ruined transit bus and fired twelve rounds at the Lost MC biker who opened fire on him and his fellow teammates earlier as the man popped open next to the side of a black Gang Burrito. The first eight rounds were caught by his body armor, but the other four penetrated through the vest, entering his heart and lungs as they tore through his flesh, fatally wounding the biker. Francisco then received six rounds to the right side of his ribcage by a MBG gangbanger nearby holding an AK-47. He felt the painful impact of the rounds hitting him, but was protected by his vest.

"Burro de mierda! Esperar hasta llegar a que se iluminaron." Francisco swore as grasped his ribcage and inhaled sharply.

**(Fucking jackass! Wait until I get you lit up)**

The MGB thug was about to aim at him once again, but was saved in the nick of time by Jamila who fired a shell from her shotgun. The impact hit the man's face, blasting off the flesh off of the right side of his face to the ground as his body fell to the ground with blood leaking out at the wound site.

"Thanks for the save!" Francisco shouted amidst the gunfire as he reloaded his rifle while returning back for cover. Jamila gave a nod in return. "You're welcome, just make sure you don't fucking die out here."

Francisco snorted a bit with a chuckle. "I've been in fights like these before. I think the fact I'm still standing here before you counts."

Jamila then reloaded her shotgun and dropped two shells on a Caucasian Lost gunman who wore a white hockey mask with a black Lost MC jacket, shoes and pants to match. The impact of the rounds left five, bloody wounds on his chest (specifically near his heart) as he fell backwards to the ground, his consciousness going blank. She then took five rounds to her chest albeit body armor as a Marabunta soldier with a facial tattoo, black sunglasses and white bandana, sporting the cholo attire of an average MGB soldier had fired his SMG at her from the passenger side of an Emperor. Jamila took cover and fired back in return, but Shizuka finished the job by firing a burst of rounds at his forehead thanks to her red dot sight, tearing through the flesh of the man's forehead as the body fell against the driver's side of an Albany Emperor nearby, staining it in blood.

Mikaela had also taken down two more MBG soldiers armed with AK-47's around the same time, but had taken eight rounds to her lower abdomen area and two rounds to both her forearms in turn.

"_Damn, that shit really hurts!"_ She thought as she felt the sore pain of her forearm wounds and abdomen wounds, but shook it off mentally as she knew she had to keep calm and stable during a situation as volatile as this one. It was situations like this one she was mentally grateful for her military training experience.

Francisco pulled the trigger of his pump shotgun twice at a black Lost MC male in his 20's with a scuffy beard and buzzcut hairstyle, wearing a black Lost MC shirt and blue jeans, white shirt. The man shouted loudly as the shells went into his lower abdomen and blew away parts of his vital organs such as his liver and pancreas. He then reloaded again, performed a combat roll and aimed at the face of an Japanese Professional, blowing away chunks of his nose, mouth and jaw-leaving a messy exit for the deceased young male.

Meanwhile, Shizuka laid down eight rounds from her Carbine Rifle at a Marabunta soldier with a shaved head, blue tanktop and jeans, entering through the man's intestines as he staggered to the ground on his knees, looking at the sky as his vision faded away into nothingness. She reloaded her rifle, but found out to her annoyance that she was down to two magazines.

"**Sore o inakamono no hakujin yarō, ima wa yamero.****"** Shizuka cursed in her native Japanese tongue as she fell under fire from a Caucasian Lost gunman holding a Carbine Rifle, who fired eight rounds below her cleavage, but was protected by her body armor.

**(Goddamn it, not now.)**

Unfortunately for her, if she took anymore rounds, she would be at risk of being wounded or worse. She then performed a combat roll to her right and fired ten rounds into the man's intestines, gallbladder and liver. Having taken down the last Professional hitman, she went to regroup with her teammates who were engaged in a gunfight against the last of the Marabunta gang members.

Shizuka entered back into the action as Francisco fired a shell into the skull of a MBG gangbanger in his 50's, wearing a blue polo shirt with denim jeans and black kicks. The shotgun blast blew chunks of his brain matter and bone away as the man's body fell onto the ground with a large thud.

Mikaela and Jamila took down two MBG thugs in their twenties with sheer force as they both ended their young lives with twelve rounds to their chests each, penetrating their abs, lungs, various tendons and spine. As she examined the scene before her eyes, she noticed a young Salvadorian male in his early twenties who wore skull-like facial tattoos with a thick mustache and stubble, sporting a black button-up shirt with a collar, blue and white fitted hit, dark blue bandana, faded-out blue jeans and white sneakers moving around the bullet-ridden, blood-stained vehicles nearby the Speedo van. The young male had escaped everyone's sight as they were focused on eliminating the rest of the remaining Professional and Marabunta forces.

"No way in hell am I letting these bastards steal away what is rightfully ours!" The guy swore with venom under his breath as he moved around the vehicles, hoping to reclaim the arms shipment for the notorious Central American gang.

Suddenly, she turned her head towards the Speedo van's engine came to life as the young Marabunta gangbanger had ducked himself under the dashboard in order not to attract attention. Francisco, Jamila and Mikaela turned around, but noticed this too late as the MBG thug started pressing on the gas pedal, driving past them.

"Fuck you Va-Hoes and your piece of shit varrio! Marabunta Grande for life!" The young Marabunta gang member shouted out of the driver's window as he threw up a MBG gang sign with his left hand, representing the Salvadorian gang

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ASSHOLE!" Shizuka shouted as she took aim with her scope and fired eleven rounds from her Carbine Rifle into the back window of the Speedo, shattering the glass and tore through the young gangbanger's back-penetrating three rounds that struck his spine, four rounds into the liver and another four into his stomach; all of them exited out of his body, striking various parts of the dashboard. He then exited out of the van and collapsed onto the ground a dead man as blood and pieces of his organs started leaking out of him. As for the van, it crashed into a small trailer nearby, but due to the slow speed it was picking up, the van had a not-too-serious dent on the front bumper.

They walked over to where the young man's body was and examined the interior of the Speedo. The rest grimaced at the bloody mess that Shizuka had performed upon the unfortunate gangbanger.

"Damn, you really did a number on the bastard." Mikaela said with wide eyes as she looked at the bloody stains and the deceased man's body.

"Well, it was either kill h-him or go through the ridiculous t-trouble of a car chase scenario once again. I grew tired of that shit, so I decided to blast him" Shizuka replied back.

"Anyway, someone will have to deliver the van." Jamila noted.

Francisco suddenly answered the question. "I'll do it since I know the way to the man's trailer. Jamila, here are my keys to my Tornado. Actually… there's something I want to leave here as a message for both the Lost and Marabunta." He said as he removed two yellow canisters from the passenger side of his car.

"Wait, you h-have one of those c-cans that are used for g-graffiti? What for?" Shizuka inquired.

Francisco replied as he went up to one of the Albany Emperors. "Well, since we came dressed up like Vagos gang members. I thought it would be better if I left a message for both groups that the Vagos were responsible. Just to throw them off our trail of blood that we left behind here. It's better this way."

Shizuka shrugged it off. "Better than us using their b-blood as writing on their v-vehicles to leave them a w-warning. That would piss them off some more." On both Emperors, Francisco had left a series of vulgar insults for Marabunta and the Lost MC; He sprayed the name **"Mara-Puta Grande"** and **"LSV" **on the Emperors and left a message on both Gang Burritos reading "**Fuck the Lost!" **

Not long after, Francisco was the first to leave the scrapyard with the van while Jamila, Mikaela and Shizuka followed en route to Ortega's trailer nearby the Zancudo River.

**3:35 PM, Nearby the Zancudo River, off of Joshua Road**

The sun was still out in its natural glory with cloudy skies across the skies of Blaine County. The vast, grassy, natural environment surrounding the Zancudo River and the mountains was one of the few wonders in Blaine County, despite the county's economic troubles that has rocked it since the mid-2000's no thanks to political corruption, an abusive law enforcement, illegal activities and drug use. All of which seemingly made Los Santos appear a bit tame to outsiders and the citizens alienated by the culture there. However what also made the environment beautiful in its own way were the extensive amount of animals that roamed through the area such as Deer, Rabbits and Boars, along with the Lago Zancudo itself.

The team drove off of Joshua Road and onto the area where Ortega's trailer was located. Francisco was the first to park outside of Ortega's trailer with the van as Jamila, Mikaela and Shizuka followed in suit. Francisco hopped out of the van and walked over to the front door of Ortega's trailer as he knocked on it. The door opened, revealing Ortega-wearing a blue jacket and black shirt with grey jeans and white Pro Laps sneakers.

"**Francisco****, ****tenía****que****llevar la****furgoneta con****las****armas****?" **Ortega asked in his native Spanish as he shook his hand.

**(Francisco, did you bring the van with the weapons?)**

"**Sí****, ****Ortega****. ****Los****brazos están en****la furgoneta****en este momento y****que estén en****buenas condiciones." **Francisco replied back to Ortega as they both walked over to the van.

**(Yes, Ortega. The arms are in the van and they're in good condition.)**

Ortega laughed heartily as he patted him on the back, thankful for having someone like Francisco working for him. "You never cease to amaze, amigo. I'm also sure you have those ladies over there to thank for helping you with this task."

Francisco made a smile. "Well, they always have my back and I couldn't be any happier. Had I not met Thomas and the others, I would have relied on some amateur gunman who would've fucked things up in the first place!"

Ortega nodded in agreement. He considered Francisco to be one of the best hired guns in Los Santos as he had years of hardened experience under his belt for a young man like him. It reminded him of his younger days when he was part of the earlier generation of the Aztecas in Los Santos, repping the varrio proudly in Northern Rancho. Now he was the one in charge in Blaine County and had an entire set in his hands.

"Well then, I'll have to wire the four of you your hard-earned cash. I'm thinking a total of $18,930 dollars for going through that much trouble helping to secure the arms shipment on behalf of the Blaine County Aztecas." Ortega said in a grateful manner, pleased with the results of the job.

"Thanks, Ortega. Could have been a bit more, but it's a decent payout for our first job for you." Mikaela said to the Aztecas leader.

Ortega nodded in response. "Your welcome. Anyway, I need to make a couple phone calls right now. Keep up the good work, you guys. Jobs like these will do wonders for the Aztecas in Blaine." He then left in their presence and went back to his trailer, leaving the crew of four to themselves.

Having the sudden idea of a social outing, Mikaela said "Hey, how about we go to Tequi-La-La tonight? I'm up for a couple drinks after this."

Shizuka's eyes lit up in excitement once she heard both their names. "I'm up for it, I haven't been out in the nightlife scene for a while now. How about you guys?"

"Not yet, but I will after we enter back into Los Santos. Francisco, Jamila, you guys wanna come with us?" Mikaela admitted.

"I'm up for it. But I'm not going to be the only man with you ladies tonight. I'mma get the rest of the gang up in that bitch." Francisco said in agreement. Jamila gave a nod, "Sure. I've got to get to get out more, anyways."

"Alright then, it's settled. Come on, let's get back into the city. I could use some shuteye after this bloody business." Mikaela stated as she went back into her Stanier with Shizuka.

"Agreed, sister." Shizuka replied. They then went back onto the roads of Blaine County making their way back into Los Santos.

**5:10 PM, 1115 Boulevard Del Perro**

Thomas woke up off his bed wearing nothing but a tanktop and gray gym shorts as he stretched his body from a one-hour period of resting. His first thoughts upon waking up was about the date between himself and Madison. They both went out to the Astro Theaters to watch "Die Already 4", the fourth and final entry of the "Die Already" series. Before the date began, he had hopes that the 4th Die Already entry would have at least a strong script, more commitment and conviction than "Die Already 3"- a film which he left a strongly-written vulgar review on . Unfortunately for him, his hopes were dashed as "Die Already 4" had possessed half, if not less of the promise the first two efforts had and went for more action, convoluted subplots, over-the-top action sequences and a half-baked script.

"_Thank God we left the theaters after that steaming pile of horseshit ended. Couldn't stand to see a bunch of good actors perform in a disjointed film like that. Wasn't the best movie to watch on a first date, but at least I got spend time with Maddie." _Thomas thought to himself as he changed into a red and white flannel shirt with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath, khaki cargo pants, a fitted black Los Santos cap and a pair of Eris Turbo sneakers to wear.

He went to grab a bottle of Logger Beer out of the fridge and snapped off the bottle cap. As he proceeded to drink out of the bottle, he heard the sound of his phone ringing from his bedroom. He quickly paced his way there and picked it up as it sat on top of his dresser set.

Thomas laid his eyes on the phone number, but didn't recognize the number as anyone from his phone's contact list. _"Who the hell is this? Probably some unknown number or someone looking for something else, might as well answer it." _Thomas deduced in his mind as he answered the call.

He heard the voice of a gruff, aged Mexican male over the phone. "Hello there, Mr. Marston! Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Martin Madrazo and I am the leader of the Madrazo Cartel. I've heard about your exploits with the crew that you've been running with for a while now and I can say that I'm impressed with the record I've seen from the likes of you. I was wondering if you wanted to talk business and doing me a bunch of services and favors."

Thomas was thrown off by Madrazo's mention of his name. It weirded him out about how much value people put on a man's reputation when it came to the world of organized crime. However, he assumed that given the unrestricted access of the dark web, someone from Madrazo's cartel may have looked into his records from when he fought in Merryweather Security and his past jobs in Liberty City after he left the paramilitary organization.

After a moment of consideration, he decided to take up the man's offer, looking at it as another open door of opportunity to make profit for himself and everyone else.

"Yeah, I'll take up your offer. Where am I supposed to meet you then?"

"You'll meet me on Hillcrest Drive in Vinewood Hills. It's the last white and brown modernist mansion with a large deck in the back. Can't miss the place, looks very rich with taste for a city like Los Santos. I will see you by 5:30 at the latest. Come by earlier if you wish, the more the merrier. See you later."

Thomas then ended the call as his thoughts turned to Francisco considering his stance on dealing with the cartels. He had good reason to assume as much, given the conversation he shared with him last month about how the cartels had ruined Mexican life on the streets and were feeding the corruption in the country day by day. Although Thomas did not know what intentions or purposes Madrazo has in store for him and his friends, he hoped that the work would not be like the publicized actions of the cartels such as mass murders of innocent civilians and rape. Despite being involved in crime himself, Thomas knew there were some lines that had to be drawn.

He then went on to call Francisco, wishing to speak to him about the conversation with Madrazo. "Hey, Francisco. You there, my man? I've got to talk to you about something important."

"Hola, Marston. Give me the rundown, my friend." Francisco said as he tuned the radio in his room to East Los FM, having just finished a shower.

Thomas took a deep breath before giving him the news. "Are you familiar with the name Martin Madrazo?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Why are you telling me this?" Francisco asked in a curious tone.

"Madrazo contacted me just a couple minutes. He has given all of us the opportunity to work directly for him." Thomas said frankly.

"FUCK THAT, I ain't working for that son of a bitch! He can go to hell for all I care. He's just like those bastardos who've helped Mexico turn into the shithole that it is today! I can't believe you even agreed to his offer!" Francisco shouted over the phone as he slammed his fist on his dresser table. Thomas then heard him mutter a few curse words in Spanish out of anger and malice.

"Listen to me for a moment, Pancho! As far as I know, Madrazo isn't commanding his lieutenants and cartel soldiers to ruthlessly murder children and women nor forcing men to fight like it's the Roman Empire all over again. I took his offer as an opportunity for every _one_ of us, think of the rewards here. At least he has class unlike The Diablos' cartel, who are nothing but fucked up barbarians!" Thomas argued as he paced in his living room.

"Shit, I can't even argue with you there about Los Diablos. Believe me, I've seen their nasty work. Those fucks live up to their name. Damn it… Alright, I'll work for Madrazo but on one condition." Francisco said with a serious tone in his voice. If he was going to work for a man like Martin Madrazo, one thing was for sure; the fact that he wouldn't work for him long enough to become like anyone in the cartels in Mexico.

"And what would that be?" Thomas inquired. "I'm only doing no less than five jobs, take it or leave it. I didn't come to the position I'm in right now just to become a slave to the cartels once again. There are times when lines have to be drawn across the sand, Thomas." Francisco said, standing firm with his ultimatum.

"Alright, then. If that's what you truly want, then who am I to stop you. Anyway, let's gather the others to meet in front of Madrazo's place. I already got the address thanks to Madrazo himself." Thomas said, no longer wishing to advance the argument forward.

"Adios, Thomas. I'll see you soon." Francisco flatly said as he dropped the call.

**5:30 PM, Hillcrest Drive, outside of Madrazo's Mansion**

Thomas was the last to arrive outside of Martin Madrazo's mansion as he noticed everyone else's vehicles parked outside of the sleek, modernist mansion. He walked towards the mansion's gates when suddenly Martin Madrazo had walked out of the door. Madrazo was dressed in a matching blue suit with a white shirt underneath and blue dress pants with black dress shoes. The cartel leader also wore a golden ring on his left hand, specifically on his ring finger, which of course showed that he was married. Thomas also noticed a large, golden necklace hanging on his neck, although he couldn't tell if it was a Jesus piece.

Martin approached him and shook his hand. "Mr. Marston. I'm so glad you made it on time, although your friends came here earlier than you did. They're still inside waiting for you."

Thomas gave a nod. "Thanks for letting me know and call me Thomas, please. I'm not too comfortable with titles sometimes."

"If that's what you like, then." Martin said as they walked to the front steps of Martin's mansion. As the door opened, the rest of the crew turned their heads and noticed Thomas and Madison was the first to greet Thomas with a kiss on the cheek.

"How's my sweetheart doing?" Thomas said as he went to greet the rest with hugs and handshakes. Madison made a small laugh as she downed a shot of whiskey from a small glass. "I'm doing pretty good; I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

"You guys arrived here earlier than I did, so that's not really fair to make. I've got to say, Madrazo. You have quite a taste in interior. When did you get this place?" Thomas asked of Madrazo. He was amazed by the looks of his mansion, which he assumed was in the range of over one million dollars. A majority of the mansion's floors were smoothly wooden and well done, the carpeting only surrounded by the kitchen, living room and its furniture. The walls were smooth with a gray paint that complimented the mansion. Nearby the entrance was a spiraling staircase that led to an upstairs living room and two bedrooms, along with a guest bedroom.

"I acquired this place a couple years ago thanks to the money my cartel had acquired, but I have it registered under a Mexican holdings company. The mansion is for a mist… *clears his throat loudly* associate of mine who I'm very close to, but isn't present at the moment." Martin said as he lit up a cigar. Thomas and Madison both shared a skeptical look on their faces, knowing well that there was more to what Madrazo was implying.

Samuel abruptly spoke up from across the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine as he passed it to Francisco. "Hey, are we just here for a tour of the place like we're at an art exhibit or are we going to get down to business?"

Martin pointed at him with a serious glare in his eyes. "I'd suggest showing some respect to your host, Mr. Ross! At least a peon with manners would show more respect than you just did. I'd advise watching that tongue of yours next time or else it will be cut off."

Samuel gulped awkwardly in response and went to sit down on one of the lavish couches next to Miles at the living room.

"Anyway, the reason why I've gathered the rest of you here is because I believe the skills that you have would be quite essential to my cartel. Over the past few months, a bunch of common enemies we happen to share… if you will, have been quite the trouble to my operations across Los Santos and beyond." Martin said as he took a moment to smoke his cigar.

"Those common enemies would happen to be The Lost, The Professionals and the Ballas, if my hunch is correct." Austin implied. Martin smoked from his cigar once more before snuffing it out on the ashtray.

"Yes, you are correct, my friend. Those organizations have been a thorn to my side, disrupting my operations for my business and my sizable control of the guns and products in this city and beyond. Not only that, but even the law is getting on my nerves since some of them are outright unjust and are willing to bribe jurors _and_ members of the public just to put me in a rotting cell. Most recent of all was Merryweather Security, who are offering some of their services to rival parties. So I'm asking of you all to go above and beyond on my behalf."

"What's in it for us, then?" Miles asked with arms crossed.

"Money, of course! You men and women are hired guns, after all? Isn't the pursuit of riches within your job description? Besides, you all signed up to kill for the sake of cash. Plus, the money you will receive will be bountiful enough to live in one of those high-rise apartments in Vinewood and elsewhere."

Francisco made a small sneer with the roll of his eyes. What troubled the young Yaqui Mexican was despite the fulfilling promises Madrazo had given, he had an uncomfortable feeling in his gut that in time-Madrazo would kill them by a hit squad if he found barely any single use of them for the sake of his cartel's operations. After all, he had been involved in the Mexican underworld long enough to know what the cartels were like in personality, so he saw Madrazo as no different, only more mild-mannered. He hoped in time that the others would see through Madrazo on a larger scale

"So how about it, then? Allies instead of adversaries?" Madrazo asked from everyone in the room.

Thomas went up to him and extended a hand. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Mr. Madrazo. This could be the start of a beautiful partnership." Martin gave a smirk directed towards him. "I share your sentiments then, Thomas." The others followed in suit and Francisco was the last one to stand before Madrazo. He gave the man a sharp glare in his eyes and had his arms at bay for a moment, for a moment it seemed to the others that Francisco would throw a harsh punch at the man, but instead

"Anyway, we'll be leaving right now. We have places to go, people to visit, bars to get drunk at and make bad decisions after downing some shots." Miles said in a half-humored tone as they exited Madrazo's mansion.

"Of course, of course. Have the rest of today to yourselves. But remember, I might give you guys your first job to pull off tomorrow or the week after. So please, for the sake of your lives and reputation, _don't fuck it up or there will be hell to pay_." Madrazo said as he waved them off and went back into the mansion as he received a call from his wife, Patricia.

Mikaela was the first to break the silence. "Well, this should turn into a series of interesting events. Madrazo doesn't seem to be the cleanest boss, but at least there's a certain level of class to him. And he seems like the sort of guy who will pay reasonably."

Francisco added his piece into the mix. "Let me be honest with you all when I say this, but I wouldn't put my damn fate into his hands. He's the sort of guy that will fuck you up by the time you either screw him over or if he sees you as a liability. That's why I'm working for him on a temporary basis and I'd advise you all to do the same."

"Actually, I agree with you, Pancho. Given the fact that he runs a cartel, the guy isn't known to be so forgiving. That's expected of people who run anything from a syndicate to a cartel. That's the underworld for you, man. Either you prove you're an asset or get put on the chopping block and wind up dead somewhere in an alleyway. We all signed up for this shit." Austin added.

"Then we'll have to p-prove our worth t-then." Shizuka remarked.

"Definitely. I was going to ask the rest of y'all if you wanted to head out to Tequi-La-La for some drinks tonight around seven. Francisco, Jamila, Shizuka and I are already going. So do you guys want to come by?" Mikaela asked

Thomas gave a shrug. "Got nothing better to do tonight. Maddie, you up for it?" Madison gave a warm look to her lover. "Yeah, just wait until we get to the basement where I'll kick your ass at pool. I'll wager a thousand."

"Not if I can help it, Bellamy. You're dealing with someone who's been playing billiards since high school and I was quite the player back then. Pray my skills aren't rusty." Thomas bragged with a smug smirk as he rubbed his hand on her forearm playfully.

"Alright, now I'm interested. I'm betting on Marston for five hundred." Miles declared. Samuel laughed at Miles' statement. "Five hundred dollars, Miles? Have some heavy balls like a real man and go higher. I'm throwing in two thousand on Madison!"

"Heavy balls, Sam? Have you been to the doctor for testicular cancer, lately?"

Samuel then face palmed himself, realizing the error of what he had just implied.

Austin gave a shrug of defeat. "Sure, I could go for an outing with you guys. Let's just make sure not to get too drunk or else they might declare a ban on our asses."

"Well, I'll be leaving here anyway. We have a game to play, down some shots and money to lose and keep." Thomas said as he walked over to his car and drove off from the area. Not too soon, everyone else left getting ready for the night.

* * *

**7:00 PM, Tequi-La-La, Vinewood**

The night was fresh and lively on the streets of Vinewood as a full moon was out in the night sky, with visible smog in the air. There were numerous civilians walking up and about on the streets, ready to enjoy the night by going to various clubs such as The Lust Resort, notoriously known only for its famous restroom quickies, drug use and one-night stands; Eclipse Lounge, a nightclub that's been visited by the famous A-list and B-list stars of Vinewood; Singleton's-a nightclub which currently serves as a place for where horny and desperate singles to hook up and serving Barbecue dishes of different styles; The Dungeon Crawler- a famous nightclub known to be frequented by the rich socialites and celebrities of Los Santos. The place also held a reputation for heavy drug use as the late actor River Lazarus had overdosed on cocaine outside of the nightclub during the mid-1990's.

The rest of the crew walked into the basement of the Tequi-la-la with beer bottles in hand. Thomas had gone on over to set up the eight-ball rack while Madison walked over to grab a pair of pool sticks for the both of them to use. Madison then handed Thomas a pool stick of his own as he finished organizing the balls in the correct order.

As Austin looked around the basement, his eyes caught sight of an old jukebox from the 1970's. "I didn't know this basement had an old jukebox from the sixties! This one even has some old pop songs from long ago. Dylan, Beatles, Beach Boys…" Austin said in amazement.

Miles chuckled a bit and made a small smirk. "Dang, Austin. Never knew you were such a soft fanatic for the classics. You come off as more of a 90's and 00's alt-rock kind of guy."

"Well, when your parents introduce you to some classics, you tend to realize how influential they are on pop culture."

"Alright, babe. You ready to lose and drink in shallow defeat?" Madison said to Thomas in a playful tone.

Thomas dismissed her statement with a wave of his hand. "Please, in your dreams. You know what they say, don't get too cocky. In games like these, anything can happen." He then walked over to the side where the cue ball was lying opposite of the 8-ball rack. Thomas then took a deep breath as he pulled back the stick in his right hand. He quickly struck the cue ball with strong force as the ball broke up the rack harshly. All of the balls on the pool table were hitting at random sides and corners until a solid number two ball entered the upper right corner hole nearby where Madison was standing.

"Hell yeah! First one in the hole tonight." Thomas shouted in an enthusiastic cheer.

"Don't get too cocky. Remember, the game's left to chance." Madison reminded Thomas.

"Then watch me work some of my magic here." Thomas then moved to the upper right corner where the cue ball was lying close enough to the hole where the first solid ball sank. He took a sharp observation around the pool table where the other balls were still lying about. The only ball he knew he could hit was an orange-colored number five ball adjacent of where the cue ball was facing.

Thomas took his stance once more as he aimed his cue stick at the cue ball. He thrusted the stick at the cue ball, but put too much force into his shot, resulting into the cue ball sinking into the hole with the number five ball.

"Shit!" Thomas cursed under his breath in annoyance as he picked out the cue ball and gave it to Madison.

"Get ready to have your clock cleaned out." Madison said, placing the cue ball next to a blue-striped, number ten ball at her left. The shot for her was easy since she hit the cue ball with a slight tap. What occurred shortly was the arrival of Carla walking downstairs with the same clothing on, much to the surprise of Shizuka as she had not expected her to arrive at the bar, not to mention her previous encounter with her during the training session.

Shizuka gave her a suspecting stare as she walked towards her. Everyone else gave confused looks on their faces, interrupting the pool game. "Carla, what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting your visit."

"Come on, Shizuka. I came here to enjoy the vibrant nightlife here and meet people. Also, it was by chance anyway. So I'm guessing these are your friends here?"

Shizuka then decided to pass off her suspicions as there were a few reasons for someone to just visit a nightclub at night. She then went to introduce the others to Carla. "Yeah, that's Thomas over there and his girlfriend, Madison. And the rest are Mikaela, Jamila, Austin, Miles, Francisco and Samuel."

"So what is it that you guys do? You guys work honest jobs like everyone else in this city or by other means?" Carla questioned from everyone else in the basement.

"Well, I'm not going to beat around the bush, that's word on my grave if I'mma die sooner or later. Yeah, we're involved in organized crime, girl. Why do you ask? Got something that you're hiding or what?!" Jamila said as she slowly walked up to her in an intimidating posture.

Carla shot her a dirty glare for a moment, looking quite pissed off. "Hey, Shizuka. Tell your friend here to back the fuck up here. Look, I'm just like you guys trying to make a quick buck in this business and I'm sorry Shizuka for not mentioning this to you a while ago. You know how the economic situation is in Los Santos. Some people can't even get by no thanks to this damned economy. Also, I've been in this sort of shit for a couple years and I know my way around weapons, combat and all that jazz. If you let me join up with you all, I can at least prove my worth."

Thomas let out a sigh. "I mean… when you put it that way, I can't argue with your case. Shit, we're all in this together. We're all making profit off of killing people. And you all know how the saying goes, 'the more the merrier'."

Carla gave a rough pat on the chest to Thomas. "Now that wasn't so tough to admit right there. Hey, weren't the two of you playing a game of pool before I got here? Come on, let's have some beers and get loose for the night."

"Now we're talking! I'm starting to like her already!" Samuel said as he finished his beer.

From there onwards, the game of pool continued on with the addition of Carla to the gang of nine as there was a sense of livelihood and tranquility emitting from the amicable atmosphere that night.

* * *

**Hello there, everyone! The chapter you all have been waiting for the past four months is finally here. Funny thing is this is like over 11,000 words in total right now. Anyway, let me cut to the chase to explain the chapter as best as I can. I wanted to give a short insight into the lives of a couple characters such as Shizuka and Francisco to show a piece of who they are as characters. I'll admit that maybe some of it might seem uninspired as I had taken numerous amounts of breaks inbetween the past four months working on this chapter and my writing may have taken a dive in quality. As for Madrazo, I wanted show as much of his character as posible as shown in GTA V. Ortega, I had the same intentions, but to show a side to the war between the Aztecas and Marabunta (And shoutout to Zilla 2000 for helping me out on this one). Francisco's deep mistrust of cartels run really deep within him, but given the circumstances in the story, he'll have to reluctantly work for him as Madrazo is less worse than the cartels south of the border.  
**

**As for Carla O'Dell being introduced into the story, I know all of you will ask me in your reviews what will she bring to the table in this story and why I introduced her. I will say that she has ulterior motives for joining our crew of grey, moral-laden friends here. All of that will be revealed in a later chapter as time goes on. What I might do with the story is perform a time jump since I'd REALLY like to get to the Heists scenario sometime soon. As for the cast of characters, I will remind you all once more that some of them won't remain in the story forever. Others will die, some will leave to leave normal lives (pls keep that in mind). I'd like to thank you all for being so patient with my slow as fuck ass. The next chapter should come within early to mid summertime as I'll be on vacation in June. Thank you all. -Tom The Author.**


	21. What's Going On So Far (Update)

Update on What's Going On So Far…

I know it's been approximately two months and six days since I updated the "Bloody Profit" story. Reason being is due to my ongoing vacation as it has extended until early July (thanks to my parents' decision for an extended stay), songwriting (I've decided to dedicate a chunk of time to writing lyrics, so I'll have to move faster with the story) and work of course. As for the next chapter, it should come within mid to late July as I had taken a period of time from April 18th to early May to focus on passing my college exams. The rest of that time forward I had spent to find a job until late May, but during that time I didn't have an idea on how to start the chapter onward; I only knew how I wanted it to end. Another thing I started planning on aside from "Bloody Profit" was to write a fanfic for Homefront the Revolution-a game that received mundane reviews, but grabbed my attention because of the alternate history and timeline surrounding the game. Overall, I sincerely apologize for the long wait. I should have done this long ago. I will have to use my MS Word as I don't have my flash drive on my person right now, so the chapter will take some time.

-Thanks, Tom the Author


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